It’s known to most that the Harry Potter novel and movie series is beloved by a great many in the world, and there is little that can change popular opinion one way or the other. As the final installment of an 8 film epic saga, fans and naysayers alike have long ago determined if they will watch this momentous occasion or not.
As a fan of the series myself, it’s hard to find fault in a film series so deeply ingrained into our culture for such a long time. Possibly considered the new Star Wars of the next generation, Harry Potter has sparked the imaginations of millions of young minds, thrusting them into the world of fantasy literature while simultaneously returning those of us who are older back into our youthful wonder of yesterday.
Breakneck speed
In The Deathly Hallows Part 2, David Yates spends zero time handholding the audience to remind them of what has transpired over the last ten years. There is no periods of reflection or review of the past, but rather a quick glimpse from the end of the previous part before the film takes off at with unrelenting speed towards an epic climax to not only the film, but the series as a whole.
By utilizing a two part film to cover the final hefty novel, Yates allows for a cleaner quicker second part unrestrained by the buildup and teen angst of the first film. At 130 minutes, there was never a moment of slowdown in the film and Yates makes ample use of both well placed dialog and climatic confrontations between the forces of Voldemort and the young defenders of Hogwarts.
Gritty War Film
Yates also holds little back in terms of action during the short war, with heavy casualties on both sides. The film demonstrates the horrors of a magic based battleground akin to the most tense of modern war films and contains many images of beloved characters falling in battle. Like the series as a whole, it maintains a tone that in the dark times, we all must grow and learn to defend ourselves amidst the terrors that attack us, all the while knowing that we must lean on those we love especially when some fall in the field of battle.
Deathly Hallows Part 2 is definitively an ending of an era. Fortunately, unlike a certain other fantasy series, this series ends with a whimsical epilogue that is quick and sincere. At 19 hours total running time over 8 films, it is a bittersweet but welcome end to a saga that has in a way, redefined our thoughts on film making and what it means to build a film franchise.
Final Score: 9 of 10