Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II
The end has finally come for Harry Potter and his saga on the silver screen. After 8 movies and countless hours of the young wizard and his adventures, it is finally done. The world had its collective breath held until this movie was finally out. Everyone knew how it ended, but people still flocked to the movie theaters to see this spectacular even much like they did when the final book came out. And who can blame them? Millions of people grew up alongside the thunder scarred wizard. This is not just a simple coming of age story, this was a growing up story. From the first few books and movies that were obviously more directed towards a younger audience and how they evolved into a much darker story of the battle of good and evil and everything in between. Now, my biggest problem with writing this review was finding a way to review only this movie and not all the movies or all the books or even just the last book. It's hard to even separate it from the first part.
Before I start this review, let me tell you what I think of the rest of the series (books and movies) and then I'll finish the review for this particular movie.
I think the Harry Potter series is entertaining. I don't think its the best thing in the world, but for what it wanted to be, it worked. The movies were a little bit less successful. Other than The Prisoner of Azkaban which was directed by Alfonso Cuarón, the rest of the movies went from good to mediocre. I think the biggest problem with the latter films was director David Yates. I don't think he is talented enough to take such complex themes and emotions and weave them with the action sequences needed. This is why we get two parts of the last book that are so unbalanced.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I is a boring mess of a movie that could probably be skipped and not matter. It's slow and uninteresting and not worth anyone's time. I just don't get dividing the last book in two parts when one of the parts is just going to be filler and the other have all the action. It makes no sense. Thus, we get a second part filled with action but with no emotion.
Apparently, you two die at some point. Not that the movie cares or anything...
oh yeah, and that orphan you left behind... who takes care of him? Movie doesn't really care either.
**Spoiler Alert**
What do I mean by emotionless? Consider the deaths of Lupin and Tonks. It has been established in the past movies and books that Lupin is like an uncle to Harry after the death of his father and then the death of Sirius Black. When he and Tonks die, not only do they not show it, they pan up as Harry looks at the survivors and there they are dead on the floor next to each other... and cut away to next action scene. It screams of bad directing and editing. That should have been a bad moment for Harry which is brushed off and it shouldn't have been.
**End Spoiler Alert**
Don't get me wrong. The movie is not all bad. I really liked that they finally made Voldemort seem vulnerable and open to making mistakes because he is gradually getting weaker with every horcrux that gets destroyed. Details like that, make me feel that there was a lot of potential for this movie to be really amazing. Also, its one of the most anticlimactic endings for a series that I have ever seen. I stand firm on my thought that the epilogue was incredibly weak and probably ruined what the series could have become. And if you thought it didn't translate well in book form... in movie form, it sucks the life right out of the movie.
Nevertheless, it was only a couple of minutes and the movie is pretty long. One other gripe I had with the movie was the fact that you could only watch it in 3d. I dislike 3d. While there were some cool looking scenes that used 3d to its fullest (the scene in the bank vault with the replicating goblets is pretty cool), the point of using 3d is beyond me. It makes what is already a dark movie a lot darker. There are some cool effects, but is it worth making the whole movie darker in order to have a couple of scenes that really use 3d. It doesn't seem like its worth it to me.
In the end, I believe the movie ends with a whimper instead of a bang. And while I have to agree that the movies were entertaining, there is nothing groundbreaking here other than how the kids really grew up into their roles and that no one should forget the acting talent of one Alan Rickman. His performance as Severus Snape carried all the films from day one and he should be given the recognition he deserves as a fantastic actor. The role of Snape is one of great importance in the series as a whole and it is almost as much about Severus Snape as it is about Harry Potter. Rickman really gave this character life. He really nails the seedy, greasy haired, scowling face that haunted Harry for most of his time at Hogwarts. The reveal about his character was well done, but I would have preferred a little bit more.
"Oh, yes. What was it you said to me before? 'Yippie-ki-yay, motherfucker.'"
What do I mean by emotionless? Consider the deaths of Lupin and Tonks. It has been established in the past movies and books that Lupin is like an uncle to Harry after the death of his father and then the death of Sirius Black. When he and Tonks die, not only do they not show it, they pan up as Harry looks at the survivors and there they are dead on the floor next to each other... and cut away to next action scene. It screams of bad directing and editing. That should have been a bad moment for Harry which is brushed off and it shouldn't have been.
**End Spoiler Alert**
Don't get me wrong. The movie is not all bad. I really liked that they finally made Voldemort seem vulnerable and open to making mistakes because he is gradually getting weaker with every horcrux that gets destroyed. Details like that, make me feel that there was a lot of potential for this movie to be really amazing. Also, its one of the most anticlimactic endings for a series that I have ever seen. I stand firm on my thought that the epilogue was incredibly weak and probably ruined what the series could have become. And if you thought it didn't translate well in book form... in movie form, it sucks the life right out of the movie.
Nevertheless, it was only a couple of minutes and the movie is pretty long. One other gripe I had with the movie was the fact that you could only watch it in 3d. I dislike 3d. While there were some cool looking scenes that used 3d to its fullest (the scene in the bank vault with the replicating goblets is pretty cool), the point of using 3d is beyond me. It makes what is already a dark movie a lot darker. There are some cool effects, but is it worth making the whole movie darker in order to have a couple of scenes that really use 3d. It doesn't seem like its worth it to me.
In the end, I believe the movie ends with a whimper instead of a bang. And while I have to agree that the movies were entertaining, there is nothing groundbreaking here other than how the kids really grew up into their roles and that no one should forget the acting talent of one Alan Rickman. His performance as Severus Snape carried all the films from day one and he should be given the recognition he deserves as a fantastic actor. The role of Snape is one of great importance in the series as a whole and it is almost as much about Severus Snape as it is about Harry Potter. Rickman really gave this character life. He really nails the seedy, greasy haired, scowling face that haunted Harry for most of his time at Hogwarts. The reveal about his character was well done, but I would have preferred a little bit more.
"Oh, yes. What was it you said to me before? 'Yippie-ki-yay, motherfucker.'"
7 out of 10
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