Review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) by Wayne K — 11 Mar 2017

The tale of Harry Potter and his fight against evil ends in explosive, but somewhat confused, fashion. You can tell how much of a toll everything has taken on all the characters, and from the start to the finish it always feels like everything is on the line.

Something I've loved about the later Potter flicks is how much always appears to be at stake. They never seem flippant or inconsequential, and there's always an emotional reward at the end. Deathly Hallows Part 2 continues, and concludes, this trend, but things are a bit scattershot this time round.

The battle is great, but not entirely focused. Voldemort is, in my opinion, a pretty rubbish villain, spending a lot of his time standing around and pulling faces and saying faux-menacing things while his hench-people do all his dirty work.

The battle with Harry isn't anywhere near as epic as I was expecting, and while it felt good when it was over, I'm sure it could have felt much more profound. But with the stunning, haunting visuals, the complete maturation of the characters and the rounding up of one of the best film series in history, it's a film to get excited about, indulge yourself in and feel genuine sadness about the fact that its all over.