I wasn’t impressed by how the final instalment of Harry Potter had been split into two films – I thought it was very much a detrimental element in Part 1 of The Deathly Hallows given that it made the movie feel elongated and padded out, and provided a hugely anticlimactic ending. Whilst I’ll still stand by my conviction that it wasn’t a necessary split, the good news is that Part 2 is a far superior movie and, as it turns out, is probably the best film of the entire series.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 does have the tricky hurdle of picking up where the other film left off. It would work fine if you happened to be sat at home, watching them both consecutively (again, the point that it should have just been one film won’t stop nagging at me!). Yet here this film begin with a few moody shots of Voldemort and a gloomy Hogwarts before Harry is asking questions about Horcruxes and more scenes of dialogue ensue to get the plot wheels turnings. It’s not an inspired opening, but it quickly gives way to a thrilling infiltration of Gringott’s vaults that culminates in bewitched treasure, a very angry dragon and a lot of goblins running for their grumpy lives.
The movie gropes its way back to finding some momentum but, once it’s up and running, it rarely looks back nor pauses to catch its breath.
The meat of Death Hallows – Part 2 takes place back at Hogwarts. Here a small faction of pupils lead by Neville Longbottom (his character and performance allowed to blossom heroically here) are taking a stand against the oppressive reign of new-headmaster Snape (Alan Rickman). It doesn’t take long for the trio of Harry, Hermione and Ron (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint respectively) to join the group, and it is here that Hogwarts becomes a besieged location, a last stand, as Voldemort and his army descend on the place bent on killing everyone until The Boy Who Lived is brought before them.
This is definitely the most cinematic of the series; aside from the business of finding the remaining horcruxes and perhaps trying to keep up with the details of arcane Harry Potter lore (Dumbledore’s brother, Lupin’s child – you’ll either know about these things or not) the film simply gets on with the business of staging a lot of grandstanding action sequences before the ultimate face off between Harry and Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes, lapping up his own turn in the spotlight).
The standard of acting is the familiar blend of top notch, old guard British talent shining in key roles (many of which only appear in the background, or in fleeting cameo, but all serve to keep the Harry Potter universe of the movie appear complete) whilst the young cast are game if sometimes a tad stiff. They’ve all generally become more accomplished as the series has progressed, but Daniel Radcliffe has always been rather hamstrung by the very character of Harry Potter who isn’t, in terms of shades of grey and depth, a particularly meaty role to tackle. It’ll be interesting to see Radcliffe in his post-Harry Potter career, free of the scar and the round specs.
The action sequences are certainly much-improved. The terrific sight of a horde of Voldemort’s followers running at full pelt towards Hogwarts matched against enchanted knights staging a defence; there’s spells flung, explosions aplenty and carnage very much ensues. If I have criticisms it’s that the film adheres too closely to Harry. A criticism of Part 1 was that the death of Mad-Eye Moody was something reported rather than shown. Sure, that was how it was in the book, but in the film it would have been a cinch to have a quick thirty-second scene showing it happen. Without naming names, there are deaths of characters you’ve known over the course of the series and these, again, occur off-screen. It’s a terrible waste, and I don’t mean in the sense of a loss of life. When this final instalment should have been totally wringing out every morsel of drama and emotion and sentiment out of its audience it chooses to duck the issue and deliver the bad news fleetingly, in passing.
Did I mention that this Harry Potter instalment is the shortest of the whole lot? Again, the argument that this suggests we shouldn’t have had two parts at all is apparent, but furthermore it states that there was room for these diversions (and, in movies, the deaths of major characters is something never to be considered a diversion – they are usually the major beats of the piece). The translation of Harry Potter from book to screen has forever wrestled with the need to stay faithful to the source material and also stand as a movie in its own right – in my opinion they’ve never really quite managed it and if the franchise could ever be said to have a fundamental flaw then this slavish quality is definitely it.
Let me not be too critical, however. As also stated, this Part 2 is surely the best movie of the series and very much finishes things off with a rousing and spectacular burst. A standout sequence that at last peels back the truth about Snape, sneaking peeks at past movies and his actions there casting him in a fresh light, is brilliantly executed and a real highlight.
Also, too, scenes with a sneering Voldemort, jeered on by his crowing followers as dawn breaks over the devastation of Hogwarts, is powerful stuff – no music and little in the way of mawkishness; if ever a scene could highlight how far the Harry Potter movies had progressed from those twinkling days of The Philosopher’s Stone then here is a marked contrast.
Longstanding fans of both books and movie series are certainly not going to miss this final instalment and the terrific news for all of them is that this last hurrah doesn’t lose its magic touch. It’s mostly one, big climactic showdown interspersed with moments of brutality (a scene where Nagini the snake strikes down a major character is particularly strong stuff) and scenes of tear-inducing emotional release.
Farewell then, Harry. For all my gripes and niggles with the movies they have been a highlight in the cinema calendar for a decade and I’ve always been very fond of them. Like little Harry, Ron and Hermione have grown up before our eyes, we’ve watched the movies develop and get stronger with each step. With Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 it’s reached its peak, its grown to be its best, and now it’s time to let it go. Indeed, farewell then, Harry Potter.
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