It strikes me that when I started watching Harry Potter movies, I was still in college. A full decade later, much has changed in my life and in the fictional lives of the characters in the movies. I confess that I have not read any of the books, being more into the more 'serious' Tolkien stories. I have however, always applauded the fact that Harry Potter books actually got children to read rather long books, which is a good and increasingly rare thing. I did watch all the movies and enjoyed them to varying degrees from the light-hearted first movie to the darker and more serious later instalments. And so we come to the final movie of the long saga.
***Minor spoilers as usual; you did watch the first part, right? Right?***
The movie opens abruptly exactly where the last one left off with Big V (Ralph Fiennes) taking possession of the Elder Wand. After burying Dobby (sniff) with honour, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson), and Ron (Rupert Grint) set off to find the remaining horcruxes they need to destroy in order to defeat the Dark Lord. It's hard to say more without spoilers, but it's obvious that there will be trouble, adventure, more than a few fantastic creatures, some laughs, some tears, and battles of a magical nature. The classic multi-front battle is well executed with a large battle on one front and several small groups on side-quests to achieve the main objectives that will lead to victory.
The movie doesn't disappoint in the effects department. The creatures are utterly convincing, insomuch as mythical creatures can be convincing. The magical bolts are pretty and deadly. Other spell effects are nicely done and particularly awe-inspiring in the big battle scenes. Sets are impressively constructed and very detailed. Having not read the books, I don't know how closely the movie follows the books, but I imagine it is as close as it could be within the confines of a movie. The pacing is handled well with lulls between action pieces for the audience to catch its collective breath and take stock of the status of all the characters.
The acting in the lead and secondary roles are very good especially in the secondary roles played by veteran actors. Fiennes is menacing and gets to make creepy voices exhorting people to turn on Harry and his friends. Alan Rickman is wonderfully complex in his characterisation of Snape. Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint are dependable as they have been throughout the movies but are sometimes overshadowed by the more experienced thespians.
On the downside, I only have a few little nit-picks. Granted, this is more of a problem with me rather than the movie, but the lore is a little thick and may be confusing to those who haven't read the book or remembered the previous movies. I've had to read up on the interwebs to fully understand some things. The 3-D is pretty good for a conversion and some of the CG elements were well-served by the extra apparent dimension, but due to most of the movie being so dark and gloomy, the dimness caused by the 3-D glasses made it really hard to see things. If I had to do it over, I would give the 3-D version a pass. Lastly, I will also say that I was not impressed with the make-up work in a particular scene.
This last instalment in the long-running franchise ties up the whole plot nicely and is quite satisfying a conclusion. It's weird that there won't be a Harry Potter movie next year, but I'm grateful to have experienced the whole ride. Kudos to the author, directors, actors, writers, and all involved for a magical 10 years.
For bringing fantasy and magic to a generation, I give Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, and the series at large, eight out of 10 baby seals.
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