It is heartbreaking when a venerable TV show or movie franchise goes out with a whimper and gets defined as being a shadow of its former self (jumping the shark is the easy way to say it). You don't have to worry about that with Harry Potter! Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is a fitting, shocking, exciting, mind blowing experience even the haters and contrarians will begrudgingly admit is pretty awesome. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 exactly is that, Part 2. The movie opens where Part 1 concluded as the evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) steals the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's grave and sets out to kill Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), who successfully has been weakening the dark lord by destroying the pieces of his soul that have been hidden in horcruxes all throughout England (If you have to ask, this is not the movie for you. No background and no knowledge of Harry Potter = Go see Larry Crowne). Voldemort, aware that he must be more proactive, has gathered his army to chase Potter back to the one place he knows the young wizard must return to in order to complete his tasks - Hogwarts.
AND IT IS ON!
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is the finale fans have been waiting for, and it delivers all of the thrills and answers you ever wanted to see, and then some. The ladies even get a moment where Harry and Ron decide it is time to engage in the Great Beefcake War with the Twilight guys by ripping off their shirts. Take that Wolf Boy and Vampire Dude!
At its best, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is a wrap up, and a chance for fans to revisit everything you loved about the Harry Potter universe as we go through Hogwarts, Gringotts Bank and more, as well as getting to see the outcomes of your favorite characters, big and small (Neville fans, Luna fans, Weasley fans and more all get to see the big moments their favorite characters live through). Parents and young wizards stand side by side in a coming of age battle that shapes all of them for the rest of their lives.
In particular, I love how we learn about Severus Snape's (Alan Rickman) past, what shaped him, what makes him who he is today, and what has motivated all of his behavior throughout the 8 movies. Suffice to say, if you have loved watching Snape (like I have) and his ambiguous behavior, this is the payoff. There is a reason he is one of the most popular characters in the whole series. Rickman is a great actor playing a great character.
Then, Fiennes shows us why he was the perfect man to personify pure evil. More than in any previous Potter movie, he gets to show off his immense acting range. He is gleefully evil, cowardly shocked into fear as Voldemort looks like he will be defeated, and he shows us the debilitation the character experiences as he might be looking at his final days and moments of life as each horcrux is destroyed and he must go toe-to-toe with his nemesis.
Director David Yates and the creative team all deserve major kudos for the scenes at Hogwarts. Once a place of magic and wonder that exhilarated childhood minds reading about it in the books and watching it on the big screen (as well as the characters living and learning there), the venerable school has been transformed into a hellish, dank, pitiful, stark forced military training camp and, eventually, site of an apocalyptic battle. As Hogwarts is destroyed, you get a feeling childhood itself is coming to an end.
What can you say about the greatest movie franchise in the history of Hollywood? It ends with a great big fun bang.
Check out DC50tv's NewsPlus Friday, July 15 at 7:30 AM and Sunday, July 17 at 10 AM to see our big Harry Potter party out at Tysons Corner, and my interview with Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) airs on DC50tv's NewsPlus, July 22 at 7:30 AM and Sunday, July 24 at 10 AM.
4 Waffles (Out of 4)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence and frightening images
At its best, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is a wrap up, and a chance for fans to revisit everything you loved about the Harry Potter universe as we go through Hogwarts, Gringotts Bank and more, as well as getting to see the outcomes of your favorite characters, big and small (Neville fans, Luna fans, Weasley fans and more all get to see the big moments their favorite characters live through). Parents and young wizards stand side by side in a coming of age battle that shapes all of them for the rest of their lives.
In particular, I love how we learn about Severus Snape's (Alan Rickman) past, what shaped him, what makes him who he is today, and what has motivated all of his behavior throughout the 8 movies. Suffice to say, if you have loved watching Snape (like I have) and his ambiguous behavior, this is the payoff. There is a reason he is one of the most popular characters in the whole series. Rickman is a great actor playing a great character.
Then, Fiennes shows us why he was the perfect man to personify pure evil. More than in any previous Potter movie, he gets to show off his immense acting range. He is gleefully evil, cowardly shocked into fear as Voldemort looks like he will be defeated, and he shows us the debilitation the character experiences as he might be looking at his final days and moments of life as each horcrux is destroyed and he must go toe-to-toe with his nemesis.
Director David Yates and the creative team all deserve major kudos for the scenes at Hogwarts. Once a place of magic and wonder that exhilarated childhood minds reading about it in the books and watching it on the big screen (as well as the characters living and learning there), the venerable school has been transformed into a hellish, dank, pitiful, stark forced military training camp and, eventually, site of an apocalyptic battle. As Hogwarts is destroyed, you get a feeling childhood itself is coming to an end.
What can you say about the greatest movie franchise in the history of Hollywood? It ends with a great big fun bang.
Check out DC50tv's NewsPlus Friday, July 15 at 7:30 AM and Sunday, July 17 at 10 AM to see our big Harry Potter party out at Tysons Corner, and my interview with Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) airs on DC50tv's NewsPlus, July 22 at 7:30 AM and Sunday, July 24 at 10 AM.
4 Waffles (Out of 4)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence and frightening images
