I’ve been pretty vocal of last few Harry Potter movies, so I feel almost like I need a retraction to start this off. I like Harry Potter. I have read the books, and enjoyed them immensely, I admire J.K. Rawlings for creating such a vivid and interesting world, and am extremely jealous of her ability to take a seemingly cute and innocent “magic” moment and turn it into a major plot driver later in the story. Polyjuice potion anyone? So I’m no hater, but I’m not a Potter addict, or either. No, I do not have a subscription to Pottermore, there’s only room for one scarf in my closet and its 16 feet long and not Gryffindor colored, and I don’t dance around my living room with a wand yelling “Expelliarmus!” (though I have been known to dance around my living room with a light saber.) Nor am I simply jumping on the Potter bandwagon, I’ve been there since the beginning.
The movies started off fun and got darker as the series went on, (as they should) but I felt a good deal of the fun got left behind as they progressed. The films were and up and down affair; “Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Chamber Of Secrets” were both great; “Prisoner Of Azkaban” was good but missed several key plot points in it’s storytelling that would have ramifications for down the road; with the exception of the last 20 minutes or so, “Goblet Of Fire” (despite the presence of David Tennant) didn’t advance the over all story; “Order Of The Phoenix” was fantastic and started bringing things back around; “Half-Blood Prince” while a great book felt very uninspired as a movie; and “Deathly Hallows Part 1” spent way too much of it’s time lost in the woods arguing.
All that changes with “Deathly Hallows Part 2”, which returns the films to great status. Picking up immediately where part one left off, the pace is quicker, the editing tighter, the whole story moves better. And it’s told so well, you forget you’re watching a movie at times and become reabsorbed in the world and it’s trappings. Great performances all around but particularly the supporting cast, who were sorely missed in the first part. The only downside I can think of is that you pretty much have to have seen the previous seven films in order to be able to make sense of this one, for by this point nearly ever revelation that comes is related in some way, shape or form to what has come before.
In addition to being among the best if not THE best of all the Harry Potter films, its an incredibly well made MOVIE and one of the best I’ve seen so far this year. What’s most amazing is that for all the dark things happening around them, (Hogwarts attacked, friends die) Harry Potter actually feels fun again. Kudos to a rousingly successful end to the franchise!
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 2 – A+
