So, after ten years and eight movies, another extraordinarily successful franchise comes to a close.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, brings the adventures of the boy wizard and his friends to a monumental, explosive climax. Picking up only hours after the end of
Part 1, Harry, Ron, and Herminone continue their quest to destroy Lord Voldemort's attachments to the mortal world prior to taking on the man himself. The majority of the film takes place at Hogwart's, and is a truly epic battle between the forces of good and evil. Being a monster fan of the books as well as a big old movie geek, I was nitpicking the hell out of the movie, both from a story perspective and the continuity as well (more on that later). Having said that, the movie is true to the overall story and mood that JK Rowling conveyed through her novels. As with most of the other Potter films, the broad strokes were there, but the details were sketchy. I understand that certain aspects were cut/missed/glossed over/ignored due to time/budget constraints, and I am alright with these......mostly. They really needed to have a tighter grasp on the continuity (Hogsmeade was covered in at least 6-8 inches of snow, Hogwart's is WALKING DISTANCE away, and not a flake was anywhere to be seen, George's ear has returned, and most grievously, Cho Chang was a year ahead of Harry, who would have been in his final year at Hogwart's, WHY IS SHE STILL THERE WHEN HE ARRIVES?!?!....there's more, but I'll stop), and quite a few plot points seemed to slip through the cracks (The entire Dumbledore/King's Cross conversation was entirely glossed over in the film, WHY?!?! This was a huge point for story resolution!). Now having that off my chest, I did really like the movie. It was a great ending to the film series.
The Cast remained the same as it had throughout the rest of the series, with the young cast looking very comfortable in their parts, as usual. The stand-outs here, though were Matthew Lewis as Neville, and in one of my favorite parts, Alan Rickman as Severus Snape. Lewis has brought Neville from a simpering wuss to an amazingly well rounded and complete character who has come almost as far as Harry in the films. Rickman's portrayal of Snape is brought to a magnificent head here. He was a favorite character in the books, but Rickman has made him one of my favorite fictional characters of all time.
A very well done finale for the
Harry Potter series,
Deathly Hallows, Part 2 may be a bit intense for the younger viewers out there, but if they have read the books, there are no surprises. If you can find a theater doing it, I do recommend trying to see the last two movies as a double feature, it just works that much better. Check it out, and thank you Harry, Ron and Hermione for letting us tag along on your adventures, it's been a blast!! 8.25/10.
See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!
No comments:
Post a Comment