Last November the mood was set as audiences were teased with only half of a whole film. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 was the slow and methodical setup for the ultimate payoff that is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, and the wait was worth it. Action packed and filled with tension, Part 2 of the finale to the Harry Potter saga is the half that makes a whole, adding an additional two hours and ten minutes to Part 1, we’re talking about a four-and-a-half-hour epic that makes for what’s arguably the best film of the franchise.
Picking up where Part 1 left off, Dobby the house elf is dead, the Order of the Phoenix is in shambles and Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) must continue their search for the pieces of the evil Lord Voldemort’s fractured soul and destroy them if they hope to stand any kind of chance of defeating him.
Along the way there will be dragons, snakes, massive fireballs, wizarding battles, death, death and more death and I was happy to see director David Yates kept the maturity level high as this is certainly a franchise far from its more innocent roots back in 2001 when Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone first hit the screen.
Our heroes are all grown up now and we’ve watched them every step of the way, and while Daniel Radcliffe and his romantic counterpart (Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley) may be a bit lacking in chemistry, the moment given Ron and Hermione is an absolute classic. But while relationships are forged, lives are lost and I can only imagine the more diehard fans, and perhaps even some of you more prone to emotional outbursts, will find themselves welling up as the battle for Hogwarts is waged.
Yates and his cinematographer, Eduardo Serra, and production designer, Stuart Craig, maintain the austere look created in Part 1 as this isn’t a contrast in styles between parts, a la Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Volume 1 and 2. No, this is very clearly the second half of one film and I can only hope Warner Bros. issues a complete home video version without interruption once they’ve filled their coffers with millions in box-office receipts. This truly plays like an extended 130 minute battle sequence capping off the more methodical events of Part 1 as Harry, Ron and Hermione quickly bounce from facing dragons in Gringotts Vault to breaking into Hogwarts where the rest of the action takes place as Death Eaters are now on guard and Snape (the ever-impressive Alan Rickman) has been named headmaster.
There isn’t a franchise of seven films that can match the breadth and duration of the Harry Potter movies. Over the course of seven complete features there have been few bumps in the road, each film remains something you can watch over and over again and the fact such a feat was able to be pulled off has changed the face of Hollywood, perhaps for the worse, but in the case of the Harry Potter features it was for the better.
Studios will continue to try to duplicate what Warner Bros. was able to pull off with this worldwide phenomenon but they’ll be hard-pressed to find a way to sustain the excellence of a franchise that not only told a compelling and entertaining story, but pulled together a cast and crew as talented as those working on this franchise.
Every step of the way the filmmaking has grown with its protagonists, from the early days with Chris Columbus, the shift in tone brought on by Alfonso Cuaron, the steely center directed by Mike Newell and the journey into a dark and gloomy conclusion guided by David Yates. The original score from John Williams has become iconic as other composers from Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper and finally, with Deathly Hallows, four-time Oscar-nominee Alexandre Desplat gets his turn. And the effects have gone from wowing audiences to eye-popping brilliance. Even the post-converted 3D for Part 2 works even if you can occasionally notice a few rough spots along the way.
The supporting cast is too many to name but I can’t help but mention my favorites including Alan Rickman as Snape, Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood and Devon Murray as Seamus Finnigan. Specific to Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Kelly Macdonald is great as Helena Ravenclaw, Maggie Smith gets her time to be a bit badass as does Julie Walters as Molly Weasley and my preview audience was cheering at the heroics on display from Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom. And Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort shouldn’t go unmentioned as he has brought to life one of the more sinister villains in recent big budget history.
J.K. Rowling’s creation has proven safe in the hands of Warner Bros. and the team they’ve hired to bring to life the over 3,400 pages dedicated to the story of the “Boy Who Lived”, and I’m very pleased to say it’s a franchise I will continue to watch for many years to come.
NOTE: This review was written with Part 1 and 2 considered to be one film rather than just Part 2 on its own. These are quite obviously two halves to a whole and as one film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is very good.
