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While franchises spark many heated debates, most people agree on one thing: it’s almost impossible to find the right ending. J.K. Rowling concluded her much loved series in 2007 with the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to appreciation and praise. Aside from a few hiccups, the novel tied the plot and character conclusions in rewarding and, at times, poignant and stirring ways. Now, the film version that takes on the second part of the novel to give us reel after reel of Harry Potter’s heart-stopping climax, and the end of an era of fantasy and magic.
The film begins in the calm before the storm. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint), having spent most of Deathly Hallows: Part 1 on the run, searching for Horcruxes and fleeing the ever expanding influence of Voldemort, now turn toward more familiar locations. They still have a few Horcruxes to find and destroy before they can take on the Dark Lord, whose dedication to killing Harry grows only stronger as he becomes aware of the trio’s intent.
Director David Yates has a keen eye for pulling on—he turns all of the once comforting and familiar locations into darkly shrouded terrains with dangerous potential. Hogsmeade is no longer the butterbeer boasting, student packed village viewers remember from earlier films, with its promise of joke snacks and mischief. Instead, it is cast in dark shadows, blanketed in snow and armed with a crowing alarm system apparently designed to work against Harry’s entrance. Similarly, Hogwarts, a location that has changed and grown so much throughout the series that it might be considered a character in itself, is empty of the richly colored tapestries and the excitement of new spells. Instead it is is depicted as a cold castle whose defenses are not quite enough to protect those within.
This feeling of insecurity permeates the film effectively--there is no question as to what is at stake, and the viewer is positioned as a hopeless observer, a nervous first-year without the skill or knowledge to get involved as the main characters take their final stand. Where a film comprised solely of a climax might get bogged down in action movie cliches, or repetitive mechanisms, the film’s action is impeccable. The assault on Hogwarts is as heady as any Michael Bay film, but enhanced with the creative use of magic. There are no car chase scenes, but there is a werewolf chase. There are no bombs, but there are explosive spells thrown from Death Eaters’ wands. And while Radcliffe may not be the traditional action movie star, this is a very special type of action movie.
If anything, the action is too good for what Part 2 is about. There is so much attention devoted to the grandeur of the battle that many of the vital character deaths seem lost in the shuffle. Where readers of the last novel might have cried over this or that beloved character’s demise, the movie seems to sweep emotional responses aside in favor of charging onward. In this, Yates makes a grave mistake. The point of Harry Potter is not just the potential to triumph over great evil, but also the cost of such triumph. Most readers recalling their experience of the last book do not cite Harry’s final standoff as their preferred moment, but rather those that highlight the side characters, like Molly Weasley’s famous line, “Not my daughter, you bitch!” or a moment when Harry is visited by his deceased loved ones. If Yates had paid as much attention to these emotional cues as he did to his action sequences, his movie might have been just short of perfect.
That is not to say that the film fails in all aspects of emotion. Particularly noteworthy is Snape’s (Alan Rickman) back story seen through the Pensieve. Rickman is unfortunately scarce in the film due to his character arc, and the few minutes illustrating his relationship with Harry’s family are beautifully rendered with just the right amount of nostalgia and regret, a moving reward for the actor and character’s fans.
Viewers should be reminded that this is not a sequel to the previous Deathly Hallows, but rather the second half. As a stand alone project, Part 2 is too much action and not enough dialogue or setup. Those that haven’t watched Part 1 since the theaters will find some of the emotional moments dangling, ill supported, and the action overwhelming. However, with Part 1 as the foundation, the two parts make a marvelous conclusion to the Harry Potter epic. While the tagline may assert that “It all ends” with Part 2, Harry Potter is bound to survive the test of time.
The film begins in the calm before the storm. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint), having spent most of Deathly Hallows: Part 1 on the run, searching for Horcruxes and fleeing the ever expanding influence of Voldemort, now turn toward more familiar locations. They still have a few Horcruxes to find and destroy before they can take on the Dark Lord, whose dedication to killing Harry grows only stronger as he becomes aware of the trio’s intent.
Director David Yates has a keen eye for pulling on—he turns all of the once comforting and familiar locations into darkly shrouded terrains with dangerous potential. Hogsmeade is no longer the butterbeer boasting, student packed village viewers remember from earlier films, with its promise of joke snacks and mischief. Instead, it is cast in dark shadows, blanketed in snow and armed with a crowing alarm system apparently designed to work against Harry’s entrance. Similarly, Hogwarts, a location that has changed and grown so much throughout the series that it might be considered a character in itself, is empty of the richly colored tapestries and the excitement of new spells. Instead it is is depicted as a cold castle whose defenses are not quite enough to protect those within.
If anything, the action is too good for what Part 2 is about. There is so much attention devoted to the grandeur of the battle that many of the vital character deaths seem lost in the shuffle. Where readers of the last novel might have cried over this or that beloved character’s demise, the movie seems to sweep emotional responses aside in favor of charging onward. In this, Yates makes a grave mistake. The point of Harry Potter is not just the potential to triumph over great evil, but also the cost of such triumph. Most readers recalling their experience of the last book do not cite Harry’s final standoff as their preferred moment, but rather those that highlight the side characters, like Molly Weasley’s famous line, “Not my daughter, you bitch!” or a moment when Harry is visited by his deceased loved ones. If Yates had paid as much attention to these emotional cues as he did to his action sequences, his movie might have been just short of perfect.
That is not to say that the film fails in all aspects of emotion. Particularly noteworthy is Snape’s (Alan Rickman) back story seen through the Pensieve. Rickman is unfortunately scarce in the film due to his character arc, and the few minutes illustrating his relationship with Harry’s family are beautifully rendered with just the right amount of nostalgia and regret, a moving reward for the actor and character’s fans.
Viewers should be reminded that this is not a sequel to the previous Deathly Hallows, but rather the second half. As a stand alone project, Part 2 is too much action and not enough dialogue or setup. Those that haven’t watched Part 1 since the theaters will find some of the emotional moments dangling, ill supported, and the action overwhelming. However, with Part 1 as the foundation, the two parts make a marvelous conclusion to the Harry Potter epic. While the tagline may assert that “It all ends” with Part 2, Harry Potter is bound to survive the test of time.
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