This film picks up IMMEDIATELY where part 1 left off. Voldemort has stolen the Elderwand from Dumbledore's grave and is set on destroying Harry. You may or may not remember from part one the curly strand of hair that falls onto Hermione while Bellatrix is torturing her. Harry, Ron and Hermione set out, with the use of a little polyjuice, to break into Gringots and into Bellatrix's vault to steal one of the last of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Thus begins the roller coaster ride. All seven films prior to this take place over the course of a school year in our characters' lives (even Deathly Hallows 1), so it's kind of amazing that this entire film seems to take place over the course of 24 hours.
That 24 hours reminds you of the last ten years you've spent in the wizarding world, and even showed Professor Sprout again (she hasn't been seen since the second film). A lot of people will compare this film to The Return of the King, mostly just because that's the culmination of the other big fantasy series of the past ten years, but check this out, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II is a better film. Maybe it's because we've already had 15 cinematic hours with these characters as they grew, maybe it's because more of us have read the books, but this final film just feels more connected to us.
It was great to see Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall take the lead of all the supporting characters in the final battle against Voldemort. Mallory pointed out that in some sense this is a film all about mothers. Harry's mom, Ron and Ginny's mom, Draco Malfoy's mom, they all play large roles, even McGonagall has served as a motherly figure to these characters for the past ten years (well, seven in their fictional minds). While we didn't notice it while reading the book, the film crammed it all into a shorter period. It seems as though J.K. Rowling was making a commentary on the relationship between mothers and their children.
We've got conflicting feelings on the subject of Snape's benevolence/wickedness revelation. Throughout the entire series the reader or viewer wonders whether Snape really is good or bad. While his true loyalties are revealed in this final installment, Mallory thought the explanation for his inconsistent behavior was unclear from watching the movie alone whereas Justin thought that subject was handled well. However having both read the books and already knowing the outcome to this series-long mystery, we might not be the best ones to be commenting on that subject.
So in conclusion, if you're a fan or just a person who's seen every movie, you should definitely go see it (most likely you already have). It's bound to set the record for biggest opening of a film, but it seems like films do that all the time. We'll probably go see it again not only because it's good, but because this is our last opportunity to see it in the theater. However, most likely we'll just see the 2D version.
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I have to say, I wasn't 100% in love with the film until "The Prince's Tale". After that, I wept like a babbling baby. From that point of the film onward, it was like a dam had opened and a flood of emotion, action, and LIFE coursed through to the end of the story. Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed the movie up to that point, but I actually didn't like the many comedic moments (even though I laughed at them...maybe I'm just too serious about Harry Potter! :D) and thought they were a bit out of place. I did appreciate the upped drama of Neville and Nagini and was glad to see the epilogue included. All in all - AWESOME film. But I think I'll have to see it again, before I pick a favourite out of all eight. ;)
ReplyDeleteAmy, I think the absolute best part is Alan Rickman's silent scream (I won't say too much to ruin it). But I might upset some folks, but I really feel as though David Yates saved the film series with the final 4 films. Cuaron got me watching beyond the first two, but really I'd probably be able to go through the rest of my life just watching 3, 5-8 and be fine.
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