When I reviewed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 back in November, I elaborated on how the Harry Potter film series based on J.K. Rowling’s insanely popular novels was on par to become the most lucrative film franchise in history. Given the success of that first installment of the two-part epic finale, it was an absolute no-brainer that Part 2 would be the undisputed champion of the 2011 Summer Movie Season. After David Yates went to such elaborate lengths to set up the back-story for the final chapter in Harry’s story with such solemn maturity and pacing in Part 1, devoted fans knew that they had nothing to look forward to but no-holds-barred action in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. Leading up to the film’s release, media coverage was relentless, with countless news specials detailing the fact that Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson were about to say goodbye to the characters that made them famous in a climactic battle between good and evil that had been building since audiences first met Harry on the big screen in 2001’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Having bought my tickets to the midnight screening a full three weeks in-advanced, I was more than ready to visit Hogwarts one final time.
Back in the summer of 2007, like countless fans, my imagination was in overdrive as I read the details of the infamous “Battle of Hogwarts” that takes place in the seventh and final book of the Harry Potter series, dreaming of how it would be adapted to film, and thankfully, David Yates was more than happy to pay due service to the hopes of Potter fanatics around the world. To call Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 epic is a bit of an understatement, as screenwriter Steve Kloves and the special effects artists painstaking detailed the most exciting parts from the book to make sure that audiences would be on the edge of their seats the entire time. Noticeably darker and more emotionally-charged than any entry in the series, the cast of Part 2 go out of their way to bring deeper dimensions to the revered literary characters, the two standouts being Alan Rickman as the ever-complex and malicious Severus Snape and Helena Bonham Carter as the thoroughly psychotic Bellatrix Lestrange. Of course, as the final entry in the series, some storyline omissions and lip-service character appearances and sure to disappoint fans of the book, especially when one considers the fact that, at just over two hours, Part 2 is the shortest entry in the series. Still, ending on an undeniably emotional high note and breaking every box office record out there, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 fully does justice to the global phenomenon surrounding the young wizard with the lightning-shaped scar.
For more information, please read the full review.
Overall Recommendation: Very High
