FILM REVIEW
The final Harry Potter was not the epic spectacle I was hoping for but it did allow the franchise to bow out with its credibility intact. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows: Part Two will satisfy die-hard fans, entertain those who are just filling in time and provides the closure that Harry and his friends needed; allowing everyone to move on with their lives.
As a single feature, Part Two is a highly-entertaining movie. The action is non-stop, the war scenes between the Order and the Dark Lord’s army are visually stunning, Hermione is finally old enough to comfortably perve on and supporting characters are given enough screen time to justify their roles.
As a two-part act, The Deathly Hollows works better than expected. I didn’t really enjoy Part One, mainly because it just seemed like a money-making scheme by the studios. But splitting the two actually allowed director David Yates to go into much more detail, using Part One as the set-up, explaining everything and building the story, using Part Two as nothing more than a two-hour climax.
As the conclusion to the entire series, The Deathly Hollows: Part Two was not the high-note that fans will remember. The main flaw with this film is that it was quite rushed in order to fit everything in. The audience are not really given the chance to say a proper “Goodbye” to characters they hold dearly and have followed over the 14 years since J. K. Rowling’s first book.
But what makes this a successful closing chapter is that it doesn’t lose the fundamental elements that made the franchise so popular to begin with. While the series offers a world beyond our own, full of wizards, witches, ghosts and giants, Harry Potter is still highly-focussed on friendship, family, love and loss – themes that we can all relate to.
What makes it equally appealing to both children and adults is the smart-yet-childish humour scattered in even the most dark of places. These are usually exchanges between some of the minor characters, such as Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood and the Weasley Twins.
What I find most impressive about this series is that they were able to cast such a talented group of child actors, who have managed to preserve the on-screen chemistry they developed in the beginning. It’s surprising that not one of them has let the films’ success ruin their approach to acting, or let their personal lives ruin their on-screen appeal (as the stars of Twilight have managed to do).
Similarly, the incredibly talented supporting cast is one-of-a-kind, and give even the smallest cameos so much credibility and substance. Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman,Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Emma Thompson, the list goes on – it really does give credit to J. K. Rowling’s source material.
While the Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows: Part Two certainly did the franchise justice as an acceptable farewell, as a single feature it struggled to compare with the adventure of The Goblet of Fire, child-like fantasy of The Philsopher’s Stone, emotion of The Half-Blood Prince or the overall quality of The Prisoner of Azkaban. But if anything, it will make you want to rewatch them all over again.
Rating: B