‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II’ Review

Release Date: 7/15/2011

The long awaited eighth and final installment of the Harry Potter franchise premiered Friday to satisfy book readers and moviegoers alike with one hell of an ending. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II is a non-stop, action-packed thrill ride that sufficiently ties up all the loose ends to let us part with the wizarding world we’ve grown to adore.  It was an emotional week re-watching the first seven films and extremely bittersweet Friday stepping into the theater. Tears were shed for most of the second half by many in the audience (including myself, obviously). This is mostly due to the many deaths and learning the truth about Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), but definitely also because it’s the end of Harry Potter.

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

Speaking of Snape…finally, we learn the truth!  He’s always been horrible to Harry and a mean teacher in general. He was in the Order and Albus Dumbledore trusted him, but then he killed Dumbledore. Harry has always hated him and always thought his beloved headmaster was wrong about him. Since viewers have mostly only seen Snape through Harry’s eyes, they have (for the most part) hated Snape, too. But Harry was wrong, and he should have put his faith in Dumbledore. The viewers should have believed Dumbledore as well. Harry is genuinely kind and good-hearted, but we all know he’s hotheaded and very stubborn. Even if viewers did believe that Snape was good, the truth exceeds anything imaginable. Snape is more than good – he’s been protecting Harry his whole life. What makes Snape’s love for Harry so heart wrenching is the fact that Harry doesn’t learn about it until after his death when looking in the pensieve at Snape’s memories. This sequence shows a side of Snape we’ve never seen – one with love, pain, and anguish all rolled into one. Rickman is phenomenal as Snape, and it’s been a long time coming to see the truth unfold and learn the secret Snape has been hiding for all these years. It’s difficult not to go in-depth about Snape and his awesome-ness because he’s my favorite character and I’ve never been able to admit it in past reviews. His character has been not only scary and mean, but at some points enjoyable laughable, the way he slowly enunciates and delivers his scarce lines. He doesn’t disappoint in Part II when he gathers the students to scare them into telling him Harry’s whereabouts. But it’s Snape’s love for Lily Potter and the way in which he protects Harry that makes his performance so extraordinary. Go back and watch the Half-Blood Prince when he kills Dumbledore – he says so much with a look.

The unveiling of Snape is only a small portion of the conclusion. Of course it comes down to Harry vs. Lord Voldemort, but the battle preceding their meeting is epic. Everyone is involved. The teachers and students have banded together against the death eaters, trolls, giants, and spiders. A particular favorite scene occurs when Professor Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith) calls on the knights of Hogwarts to protect the inhabitants of the school. McGonagall has always been reserved and by the books, but here she lets loose and is excited to wreak havoc. The war is madness. Everything happens so fast and people are dying left and right. It’s unlike any other Potter film in that respect.  The films have been progressively darker since the Prisoner of Azkaban, and this is the darkest one yet – part of that may have to do with the conversion to 3D. It doesn’t ruin the movie, but it’s highly unnecessary. I’d rather have seen it in 2D but didn’t want to miss out on the IMAX experience. I’ll see it at least two more times, and that will be in 2D.

The movie begins at the end of Part I, actually showing the last scene of the previous film when Voldemort seizes the Elder Wand. The next two scenes are dialogue-driven and extremely informative with Griphook and Ollivander’s conversations with Harry. Both occur with Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) standing in the background, which is what it seems like they do for most of the film. They’re not at the forefront with Harry as they usually are. Ron doesn’t get in as many quips as he usually does, but he does finally get to kiss the girl. It’s fitting how they portray them passionately kissing and then immediately laughing afterwards. It’s also very cool to bring back the same set used in Chamber of Secrets. Talk about a trip down memory lane.

While Ron and Hermione’s onscreen romance works, Harry and Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright) are so lame. This is very disappointing because Ginny is so awesome in the books. There started to be some potential in the fifth movie before Harry realized he liked her, but ever since the sixth film it’s been awkward with little chemistry between them. I was hoping they’d redeem themselves in the last film but it never happens: I don’t even think I would have really cared if Ginny died.  A new romance springs up that doesn’t happen in the books but makes total sense – Neville Longbottom (Mathew Lewis) and Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch). Neville finally gets some much-deserved glory as he has taken over as leader of the students at Hogwarts. Since Harry, Ron, and Hermione have been gone, he’s kept Dumbledore’s army up and running. It’s great when he taunts the death eaters because they can’t cross and invisible shield to kill him. When they can, he turns and runs for his life.

Voldemort remains his scary self, but there was some laughter at his actions a few times at the end of the film – when he pushes Bellatrix Lestrange off him, when he awkwardly hugs Draco Malfoy, and when he laughs hysterically at Neville (the last one was still a little scary). He’s been the most feared person in the wizarding world forever, but now when we see him close up, maybe he’s not so scary after all. This portrayal doesn’t ruin Voldemort’s character – it just recognizes his weakness as the enemy.  Unfortunately, the Harry Potter films are not known for ending well. It’s typically Harry, Ron, and Hermione standing together at Hogwarts and wrapping it all up with a cheesy couple of lines. This one would have ended just like that had they not flashed forward 19 years. Prior to the flash, the trio is standing on a bridge outside Hogwarts. They hold hands and it fades out. Lame. This is the culmination of basically their entire childhood, in movies and in life, so it shouldn’t have been difficult for them to feel that and show it. Grint even said in an interview that the ‘bridge scene’ was very emotional for him. Not so much. I expected more from them. 19 years later is pretty cool, seeing them all as parents sending their children off to Hogwarts. Ron is mute in this scene for some reason, but overall it’s nicely done.

I need to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II a couple more times to decide how I really feel about it, but I was definitely happy with the ending. Was it my favorite of the eight films as I hoped it would be? I don’t think so, but perhaps I’m just sad that it’s all over. Harry Potter – books and movies – will always be in my favorites categories for years to come. I can’t believe it’s all over, but I can see Harry anytime by just opening a book, popping in a DVD, or for a few more weeks, head to the movie theater.

IMDB 8.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes 97%
Moviewiseguys 9.5/10