REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 3D

MOVIE
Harry Potter
and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

CAST
Daniel Radcliffe,
Rupert Grint, Emma Watson

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
July 15, 2011

DIRECTOR
David Yates

STUDIO
Warner Bros. Pictures

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 10 minutes



STARS
****









REVIEW:

Alas, my muggle friends! We have come to the end of the Harry Potter phenomenon with the final film, harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Going in, you already know that this movie is going to be an Armageddon for wizards, meaning tons of action and deaths and a whole lot of magic. My buddy Chris and I oh so dearly were begging our parents to let us go to see the movie at midnight, like every other Potter geek. However their answer was no, so we unfortunately had to settle on the next best thing: 9:45 in the morning on opening day. That meant that the theater wasn't nearly as crowded as it was the night before, and instead of Potter geeks there were just regular moviegoers. This meant that the cheering during famous parts from the book or the opening titles was thrown in the trash, so when I did it it only created embarrassment upon myself. Putting that aside, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is not only the best of the Potter franchise, but it also is the best movie of 2011 so far. This may also be the first Potter film where instead of talking about how great the film was, my friend and I were only talking about one particular scene that just made us two laugh out loud, despite not trying to be so funny.

In case you never saw HP7 Part 1, (you may want to rewatch it before seeing Part 2) the basic story is that Harry, Ron, and Hermione are searching for the missing Horocruxes in order to destroy Lord Voldemort once and for all. I can't tell you much more, because that would only spoil this movie. Do you guys remember back in June when I said that Super 8 was the best movie of 2011, and nothing, not even Harry Potter could top its awesomeness? Well, I probably shouldn't have said that, because it is 100% a lie! This may be the most epic fantasy conclusion movie since Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King. Actually to be honest, I'm not a big Lord of the Rings fan, so I didn't like them as much as I love the Potter series.

For those that disliked Part 1 of the Deathly Hallows (I personally loved it) because of its lack of action, then you may want to get your butt into a theater seat as fast as you can. Once this movie starts, you suddenly get caught up in a full scale World War 2 like battle that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The action is very intense, but totally spectacular, especially in 3D, which isn't exactly needed here, though it adds something to the movie. You will be sad when others fall, and you will cheer when the good guys are winning. Speaking of good and bad guys, let's get into how the cast was in the final Harry Potter film.

This movie has the best acting seen in any of the previous installments. It gets very emotional when you see the characters we've grown up with for a decade have to act like adults in this final installments. Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson are at the top of their game in this movie. Unlike Part 1, where we only focused on Harry, Ron, and Hermione, this movie focuses on everyone doing their part to fight off Voldemort and his crew of Death Eaters. The best part about that is that everyone has a shining moment in this movie, including Molly Weasley, who says her infamous line, and Neville Longbottom, who has clearly become a badass over his years at Hogwarts. The best actor portrayed in this movie is in fact Alan Rickman, who plays Severus Snape, in case you have no knowledge of the series.

Rickman gives his best performance in any of the Potter films, and might actually give the best performance in this movie, period. I can't exactly see "Academy Awards" in his future yet, but that happening wouldn't be a surprise to me, because he undoubtedly deserves it. Another possible Oscar contender in my opinion is Daniel Radcliffe. To be able to pull off playing the same character for a decade is quite an impressive feat, and I believe that Mr. Radcliffe deserves some recognition for playing Mr. Potter for so long. Everyone else was just fantastic. Even the small characters in this movie are very good. That's why people get emotional when some of the characters die in combat. I don't consider that a spoiler since I'm not mentioning who plays victim to "Avada Kedavara."

The Harry Potter series has always been a huge part in my life. It's sad for me to see the series end as I'm going into high school, but like the cast of the franchise I too will move on with my life and achieve great things. Everyone who has grown up on this series will be bawling their eyes out at the end. Who wouldn't, the Harry Potter franchise is over! This movie has some light hearted moments, but this is a hardcore fantasy action movie. Once this movie starts, you're almost instantly sucked into the battle of Hogwarts, just waiting to see the epic showdown between Harry and Voldemort. The action is amazing, the acting is superb, and this movie is completely acceptable as the end of the Potter franchise. Be warned though that this movie is the shortest Potter film in the franchise, coming in at around 130 minutes.

While book fans will believe that this is very short for a Potter film, you have to remember that this is the second part of the Deathly Hallows book. Put Part 1 and Part 2 together, and that comes to a 4 1/2 hour movie. I felt that this was the perfect length for the movie, as it does two things that the other films didn't do. A.) This movie didn't give you a butt-ache. B.) This movie doesn't move as slow as the previous seven. I didn't find any problems with this film at all, as well as my friend who came with me to the movie. This really is the perfect ending to a sublime franchise. So just like the tagline of this film says, It All Ends, and it couldn't have ended in a more perfect way. Goodbye Harry Potter, the world will miss you.



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