Review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) by Josh K — 22 Sep 2014

We have now arrived to the final entry, which brings everything to the right conclusion.

The Harry Potter series has done a fantastic job, honoring J.K. Rowling's world and novels, with this film bringing the series to a justifying conclusion.

Picking up directly from Part 1, Harry, Ron and Hermione break into Gringotts, hoping to find another horcrux. This leads them to Hogwarts, where a dangerous battle is played out. The staff of Hogwarts and the Order of the Phoenix fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters, while Harry, Ron and Hermione attempt to find the final two horcruxes.

This film is presented as a big war film, with the battlefield substituted for a school and wands standing in for guns. While the film focuses wonderfully on the battle, Harry, Ron and Hermione are still the main focus, never being thrown into the background.

David Yates brings this film to a satisfactory conclusion, allowing every character to get their right moment and sendoff. I have always felt that Yates has been a perfect addition as director to the series, following in the footsteps of Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron and Mike Newell. Like those directors, I always felt that Yates loved Rowling's novels and always honored the novels as the earlier directors had done. Yates brings the right sense of grit to the film, never softening it up.

The cast does a fantastic job, especially Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, who you can easily see have been through a tough journey. Radcliffe really shows the danger that Harry is going through in order to bring an end to Voldemort.

The supporting cast does a fantastic job, with the main standout being Alan Rickman. Rickman shows the true loyalty of Snape, while you also finally get to see the true side of Snape, which really honors the way it's presented in the novel. Rickman brings real complexity and sadness to the character. During filming of the films, Rickman was the only actor who knew anything about Snape, which he used in order to depict Snape differently in each film. Ralph Fiennes also does a great job with Voldemort, continuing with that sense of dread and hatefulness which Fiennes does so well. The scene between Radcliffe and Gambon is also played out well. While the final fight, especially between Radcliffe and Fiennes, is outstanding.

Alexandre Desplat's score is much more epic, at times having a strong war like feel to it. Desplat introduces a new theme for this film, Lily's Theme, which plays throughout several important scenes. Also, the choice of having Leaving Hogwarts from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone play during the epilogue and Hedwig's Theme during the start of the end credits is brilliant, having it act as a love letter to the start of the franchise. Eduardo Serra's cinematography is darker, with a strong sense of grit, supporting the war like feel to the film.

This film brings the series to a nice and thoughtful end, while we may never get another franchise like this ever again. Job well done everyone!