HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 (2011)
UK/US
Directed by David Yates

CAST:
Daniel Radcliffe - Harry Potter
Emma Watson - Hermione Granger
Rupert Grint - Ron Weasley

PLOT:
     The final chapter begins as Harry, Ron, and Hermione continue their quest of finding and destroying the Dark Lord's four remaining Horcruxes.

REVIEW:
     When the first movie was about to come out in theaters in 2001 I had no idea what it was about so I went and picked up the first book to see what the big deal was. Well needless to say, I went and picked up the other books that were available at the time and digested them as quickly as I could. One of the things that struck me about them that other books series didn't is the passage of time and how it plays into the whole storyline. Here was a series where the main characters and everyone around them grow up and mature. The books matured as well. What is even better, is that the movies followed the books design by following the characters through childhood to adulthood. As the movies did this, the movies also become darker and the world they lived in more dangerous as well. So now that the last movie is out did it do the rest of the series justice?

      I said in the last movie that the younger actors finally came in to their own in the acting area. This movie is different. In this one the older actors give a acting class to everyone and schools them. I'm going to start with Alan Rickman as Severus Snape. Throughout the entire series to he  played Snape as someone that hated where he was at and despised Potter for just being alive. The reason for this is fully explained and with great emotion. Never have I seen Rickman act like he does in this movie and to me he is the main reason to see this movie and the revel that is centered around him. If Rickman had failed in his role, to me, the whole movie would have fallen apart and would not have been able to get back what it lost. Yes, Rickman's role is that important to the film and the overall Potter story. A hint at his true allegiance is when he and Maggie Smith's McConagall are fighting and Snape deflects her shots into the two Deatheaters to the side of him. As for Ralph Fiennes' performance as Lord Voldemort I must admit when I watched the movie I really didn't like him, I thought he overacted and went to far out. Yet here it is almost a week after I watched the film and his role has grown on me. I think part of this is because toward the end of the film there is finally a vulnerability to the character that wasn't there for most of the time Fiennes has played the character. It is subtle, yet it adds so much to his character.

      The best way I can describe the film is that it's a war movie for the most part. Even though most of the main fighting takes place off screen we're given flashes of it and the aftermath. One of the shocking scenes is when we see Fenrir Greyback chowing down on the fallen body of Lavender Brown. It's a small scene but it's still shocking.  Another scene that shows that the series has become for adults more than kids is when Voldemort is walking through the dead bodies of the Gringott goblins, stepping in the pools of their blood. The only real complaint I have with the movie is that it glosses over the actual fight for Hogworts and we miss some of the more prominent deaths that happen, including Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, and Nymphadora Tonks. Another sticking point I have is that in the books there was a scene with Harry and Lupin where Harry talks a freaked out Lupin out of running away from his wife and soon to be born son, as well as naming Harry his son's godfather. These are small gripes compared to the whole of the movie, yet it is these small things that would have made the film from amazing to something better with the extra human interaction. I know these are small gripes yet I felt I should mention them. Oh well, I can always hope for them to be put back in the movie once it comes out on Blue-Ray.

     For the past 10 years, the Potter films have become ingrained in the mind of movie goers. We actually got to see and grow up with  the actors and actresses of the series as well as see them grow in their profession. Now that time has finished and what is left is a legacy that will not be forgotten any time soon specially with such a strong last movie that wraps everything up like it does.If you get a chance go and see the film in theaters, do so, as this is one of those movies that was meant for the big screen. Just hope you don't get stuck beside a 40 year old lady who jumps up and down in her seat cause she's so excited by what she's seeing on the screen.

BEST DEATH:
     The surprisingly painful and viscous death of Snape by snake.

BEST LINE:
     That doesn't mean we can't delay him. And his name is Voldemort, so you might as well use it, he's going to try and kill you either way.

FUN FACTS:
     Most of the events in this film - from the raid of Gringotts to the Battle of Hogwarts - take place over the course of a single day.

     In the story, Voldemort has created several Horcruxes in an attempt to cheat death. Appropriately, his name is French for "Flight of Death" or it can also mean "Stealer/Cheater of death".

     The filmmakers persuaded Tom Felton to convince his girlfriend, Jade Olivia, to play Draco Malfoy's wife, Astoria Greengrass, in the film's epilogue.

     Alan Rickman, Bonnie Wright, Devon Murray, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Geraldine Somerville, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Matthew Lewis,  Robbie Coltrane, Tom Felton, and Warwick Davis are the only actors to appear in all eight Harry Potter movies.

     Alan Rickman was one of the few actors from the Harry Potter films to know secrets about his character before the last couple of books were done thanks to J. K. Rowling. She explained to him the reasoning for Snape's protection and bitterness toward Harry Potter stems from when Snape and Potter's parents were both in school at Hogworts.