Writing reviews for HARRY POTTER movies is kind of like writing reviews for films in THE TWILIGHT SAGA… which is not in any way trying to compare them in quality or characters, but rather the entire thing being an exercise in futility.  Why?  Because no matter what I say, the fans that love it are going to see it anyway.  I feel it’s only fair to go on record noting that I have not read all of the J.K. Rowling books, so yeah, I know I’m probably not appreciating all the little aspects and subtle nods to the source material.  I’m also pretty upfront about my feelings on the movies, as I feel there’s some definite weak entries in the franchise.  Personally, I didn’t care for THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, mainly because I felt the style and look of the film (directed by Alfonso Curon) was so drastically different from what came before it, the end result was jarring and unsettling.  I did like THE GOBLET OF FIRE quite a bit, but started to feel let down with THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (that’s the one where they build an army of wizards… who did nothing).  THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE was painfully boring to me, and in many ways (particularly with the Ron Weasley romantic subplot) felt like a TV teen drama more than a movie about magical students in a school for wizards.  Granted, it had a BIG moment at the end, but even that felt a little flat to me.  Granted, I never read that book, so I can only go by what I saw.  I’ll even say I was a little underwhelmed with THE DEATHLY HALLOWS Part 1, as I was hoping for some action, and that film has very little in it.  But everyone kept saying “Just wait, because Part 2 is going to be all action!”  I’ve been waiting, and now that it’s here, I’m happy to say that (for the most part) I was not disappointed.

In this outing, we’re thrust right into the action where the last film left off.  Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) now possesses the Elder Wand, which he took from the resting place of Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon).  Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) are looking for the last few Horcruxes to destroy, and thereby weaken Voldemort to the point of hopefully being defeated.  In the meantime, The Dark Lord’s army is preparing to descend upon the Hogwarts School, and destroy anyone not siding with them.  Harry confronts Professor Snape (Alan Rickman) for his actions in the previous film, but there’s more to the seemingly bad man than Potter is aware of.  The entire film is essentially a culmination of the inevitable final battle, in which many of the familiar characters will perish, and we’re left to wonder if even the powerful Harry Potter has what it takes to triumph against evil.

As a final film, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS Part 2 is pretty satisfying, in that it gives you exactly what you’d expect… lots of action and spectacular battles.  There’s some big moments peppered throughout too, with various characters falling in battle, and the school itself getting pounded by collateral magic spells.  Every dollar is on the screen, and it looks beautiful.  Like most 3D films hitting theaters these days, there’s nothing terribly groundbreaking about the 3D aspects, but it does somewhat enhance the excitement… and you get a specially designed pair of HARRY POTTER 3D glasses.  But there’s also a few unusual moments, such as a MATRIX-esque conversation Harry has in a heavenly surrounding, which seems to drag on a bit during a moment where we’re wanting to see the big finish.  Some have complained that this outing is too rushed, clocking in at two hours and 10 minutes, a rather short running time for a HP film.  But in my mind they maximized that run time by avoiding any potentially slowed down moments.  Even some of the inevitable kiss scenes between characters we’ve known were sweet on each other for a while are shown in quick fashion so as not to distract from what’s important.

Radcliffe can pretty much play Potter in his sleep at this point.  To evaluate his performance is really more of a question as to whether or not he looks interested, and in this one he appears to be giving it his all.  Ralph Fiennes has fun chewing up the scenery as the evil Lord Voldemort, a character that is more out and about that in any of the previous outings.  Emma Watson and Rupert Grint fall more into sidekick mode in this installment, serving their purpose but not overshadowing any of the main events.  The showcase character who steps up big time in this outing is Neville Longbottom (played in very likable fashion by Matthew Lewis), who in my opinion, next to Harry himself, is the coolest character in this film.  I did find myself wanting more story for Draco Malfoy (played consistently well by Tom Felton), but I guess there’s only so much character time to go around… he’s still good in this.  Alan Rickman, who is always great, gets to do more than ever this time as well, and we finally understand some of the great mystery behind Professor Snape.  All of the actors, even some of the great British institutions that are essentially just completing the background scenery, are giving 110% on this one.  No one slacked off in the acting department and it shows.  As a big screen spectacle, DEATHLY HALLOWS Part 2 is excellent and fulfilling.  As a HARRY POTTER film, it’s still not perfect, but the finality of it all allows for quite a bit of forgiveness.  I found myself getting a little nostalgic as events began to wrap up, particularly in the epilogue (which is taken right from the book I’m told), which shall forever remain the moment we all realize these characters are truly saying goodbye.  We’ve watched the principal cast literally grow up on screen year after year, and seeing them bid us farewell in a fade to credits that would make even Steven Spielberg proud, one has to wonder if the full effect of HARRY POTTER has yet to be felt by fans.  Even the score by Alexandre Desplat evokes the feeling of classic John Williams greatness. I for one enjoyed the last chapter, and don’t regret the time I invested in the previous tales… even if some of that time wasn’t as exciting as I had hoped it would be.  If you’re a fan, it’s safe to say you’ll be pleased… if you’re just a casual moviegoer, it’s safer to say you’ll at least leave impressed.

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