Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows (Part 2)

And so, we come to the final of the Harry Potter films; Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2, the thrilling concluding continuation of The Deathly Hallows Part 1. I still have yet to read the book, but I’ve seen the film for the first time earlier this year. I know, I know, but I don’t need to talk about my admiration with the franchise as it progressed through the years, do I now. It’s all in the previous reviews. Okay, so here we go with the thrilling conclusion of it all (until the Cursed Child of course).

Spoilers in red.

We pick up from where we left off from Part 1, where Voldemort has just robbed Dumbledore’s grave of his wand. After the credits, we get Snape staring solemnly at Hogwarts students marching through the outside corridor, supposedly knowing the school is about to be attacked. Meanwhile, Harry pays his last respects to Dobby (who was killed in the previous film by Bellatrix). He, Ron and Hermione continue their quest to destroy the remaining Horcruxes. This leads to the trio finally arriving at the school and the final battle begins between the school’s staff/students and Voldemort’s army.

Predictably, I dodged the Deathly Hallows Part 2. A, because I had not seen Part 1 yet, B, I saw the trailer and felt that the shot with Harry and Voldemort falling off a tall building would give away too much of the ending, and C, yes my falling interaction with the franchise. However, I got round to seeing this one earlier this year along with Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows Part 1 and let me tell you, it was worth it. From all the boredom I got from Deathly Hallows Part 1 i.e. the pointless love triangle, the rushed intro and not enough action, Part 2 was a massive improvement. It turns out I just needed to wait for one more film. It does seem dumb to split a film in two, considering that they could’ve cut the romantic stuff and any other scenes that dragged. But the Deathly Hallows Part 2 makes up for it.

There are loads of high points this film brings up, but I’ll try and keep it as short as possible. Let’s start with Snape, because he’s my favourite character and he has such an important role in Deathly Hallows Part 2. When we first see him, he’s staring in space and watching the students. The look on his face tells me that he’s aware of an attack about to happen and supposedly hoping that Harry will survive. Soon, we see him rounding up the students and faculty in the main hall, warning them that anybody aiding Harry will be punished, this going for both students and the teachers. Very dictator-like. Of course, that’s until Professor McGonagal challenges him to a duel and he flees. Then he’s debating with Voldemort on who the elder wand responds to. Voldemort then kills Snape and Nagini (Voldemort’s pet snake, that is) gladly helps. I must admit, when Harry and his friends find Snape and he asks them to take his tears before he dies, I was feeling emotional. And especially when Snape says that Harry has his mother’s eyes. It’s one of them scenes that demonstrates Snape’s secret love for Harry.

This brings me neatly onto my favourite scene of the Deathly Hallows Part 2; when Harry observes Snape’s memories. We learn from this part that despite Snape’s distaste for Harry’s dad, James, he did fancy Harry’s mom, Lily. But they happened to be placed in different school-houses; Snape in Slytherin, but James and Lily in Gryffindor. It’s no wonder that later in the flashback, Snape’s seen in shock when he finds their corpses in the house where they was murdered by Voldemort and hugging Lily’s body and sobbing. And here’s another thing that seems odd; Dumbledore had wanted anybody who killed him to be Snape. I also like how Snape states that he’s grown to ‘care for the boy’. Turns out Snape wasn’t such a bad guy after all. And you can see why in The Philosopher’s Stone, he was trying to save Harry from Quirrell and in the Prisoner of Askaban, he attempted to protect Harry and his pals from a werewolf.

What else do I like? I’ve always been into war movies and from the start of the battle to Harry and Voldemort’s final showdown really feels like one; lots of massive destruction, so many killings… Speaking of which, I often find myself smiling when Bellatrix attempts to strike Ginny and Molly’s like ‘Not my daughter you b***h!’ and then destroys Bellatrix. And what about when Harry and co save Malfoy and a guy named Zabini from a burning room? Theme of loyalty there, even though Malfoy had made Harry’s life a living hell. What really cracks me up is when Harry and Ron are broomstick-flying to save them and Ron’s like ‘If we die for them Harry, I’m gonna kill you!’. Huh, get it? Too much to say.

If there are some nitpicks I have with the Deathly Hallows Part 2, one of them is Hagrid’s first appearance in the movie. Harry finds that some of Voldemort’s fellow Death Eaters have caught Hagrid and he’s literally tied up between them. I kind of wanted to see how he got abducted. Maybe that’s what the previous film was missing. Plus it was a bit of a long while before the main trio finally got to Hogwarts, because that is where the real action is. Also, I have to point out the Dursleys’ absences, well, except for Petunia Dursley who appears briefly during the flashback scene. And some of the dialogue is a little corny.

On to the rip…, sort-of rip-offs; remember in Order Of The Phoenix when Harry had sensed where Voldemort’s minions was and what they was planning and I compared it to Captain Scarlet’s sixth sense? Well, there’s bits of that in this one. Okay, they’re more of similarities than rip-offs. Somehow, Snape reminds me of Darth Vader from the Star Wars franchise, i.e. the fact that he kills Dumbledore in Half Blood Prince (just like Darth killing Obi Wan Kenobi), then in this film he kinda rebels against Voldemort and dies, proving his love for Harry, a little like Darth fighting back against the Emperor and sharing his final moment with Luke Skywalker, but obviously different. Apart from that, not much else to point out.

And finally, let’s talk about the ending, yeah, massive spoiler! I know. This is the part a lot of the people have complained about. Personally I don’t mind the ending. I think it’s quite heart-warming and I love the old school score that goes with it. Plus I have nothing against the main characters starting their own families. Some fans are against it, because of how light-hearted it is. Others moan about the fact that Hermione is married to Ron instead of Harry, while Harry is married to someone else. And I can’t believe J.K Rowling apologised for letting it happen. I mean, it’s her creation. She can do whatever the hell she wants with it. Sure, the ending’s cheesy and for some reason, I had a feeling Harry would live anyway, but it’s a nice closing to the Harry Potter series. I can’t think of another way to conclude it.

My final verdict; forget the fact that the film’s currently in IMDB’s Top 250 Movies list for a moment. Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2 is definitely one to check out. Despite its corny dialogue, I like it way better than Part 1. Much less boring, much less b***hing, it’s such a thrilling conclusion! Like I say, I still have yet to read the book, but the film certainly gave me a magical impression!

So that’s all eight Harry Potter films I’ve seen and reviewed. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading them as much as I had fun writing them.

Overall rating: 8/10