Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2

Release date: July 15, 2011
Director: David Yates
Novel by: J.K. Rowling
Screenplay by: Steve Kloves
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Gambon, Tom Felton, Jason Isaacs, Maggie Smith, Jim Broadbent, Miriam Margolyes, Gemma Jones, Emma Thompson, Gary Oldman, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Matthew Lewis, Evanna Lynch, David Thewlis, Julie Walters, Bonnie Wright, Clémence Poésy, John Hurt, Mark Williams, Kelly MacDonald, Ciarán Hinds, Natalia Tena, Helen McCrory, Katie Leung

It is finally over. Ten years of our lives have gone, and we’ve gone through them alongside Harry, Ron and Hermione. The franchise has grown so much, that they don’t even need the Harry Potter logo on the posters any longer. We are familiar with the characters, seeing their faces… we just know.

Deathly Hallows Part 2 picks up right after Part 1 — if you didn’t know Book7 was split into two, maybe you shouldn’t watch this one… yet. Harry (Radcliffe), alongside Ron (Grint) and Hermione (Watson), had been looking for Voldemort’s (Fiennes) pieces of soul which he put in very specific artifacts to ensure he wouldn’t ever die. His minions have taken over Hogwarts, and Snape (Rickman) is the Headmaster.

As the Dark forces seem to be winning, the trio must enter the castle, take it back, and destroy the remaining pieces of soul to finally destroy Voldemort.

My fears for Part 2 were confirmed, there wasn’t really any meat left in the bone. Don’t get me wrong, the film was action-packed, and had its own very good heartfelt moments… but it really is just it, the second part of a movie. It confirms how the splitting of the book wasn’t really necessary because as much as I loved Professor McGonagall (Smith) doing the spell she always wanted to do, and how rocking Neville Longbottom (Lewis) was finally able to be, the final battle at Hogwarts was really extended, the duel between Harry and Voldemort wasn’t climatic enough, and we never got to know anything much about Dumbledore’s family or past with Grindelwald.

If Part 1 was all about the trio, Part 2 ended up being all about Severus Snape. Alan Rickman, I tip my wizard hat to you. Even with the minimum screen time, he managed to bring the most heartfelt moment in all of the series (that I can remember). This feeling wasn’t brought back by Snape’s memory, but just the simple shot of Rickman almost motionless and the delivery in that painful “you have Lily’s eyes.

Technically, the film is par with its predecessor since the same crew is involved, but I would really suggest people to catch it on 2D since the 3D has very little to do with the movie. On a purist perspective, we were meant to see Harry Potter in 2D and nothing would be missing because the characters are already real to us.

However, just as the epilogue in the book felt straight out of bad fanfiction writing, the inclusion of the epilogue in the film seems like pandering. Not even the greatest of makeup could make any of the younger actors look 19 years older convincingly — the situation lends itself to so many jokes, and makes the closing of the film less emotional.

Overall, Deathly Hallows Part 2 is a resolution film that is only meant to close the Harry Potter chapter in our lives. It compliments Part 1 accordingly, but it’s rather weak as a stand-alone piece.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

amy

YAM Magazine editor, photographer, blogger, translator and part-time web designer. Film junkie, music junkie… and lately series (a.k.a. TV) junkie.

49 Responses

  1. Julili says:

    Wow. See? Now I’m so happy I didn’t bother with the last movies. But now I have the urge to read the final book all over again. I guess I’m ready for it now.
    To me the last books were all about Snape. I knew that Lily was his Akilles heel. Gah! But him loving her for so long…. A little creepy sure, but still: SNAPEYYYYYYYY

    • amy says:

      @Julili, to be honest, there are a lot of creepy stuff in regards of “romantic” love in the series. I could understand not being able to let go from Snape… but how do you explain Ginny looking sooooooooooooooo much like Lily. It’s not even just in the book either, it’s blatant in the movie. Harry’s mom looks a LOT like Ginny. That’s creepy, and Harry needs some therapy.

      Actually, Part 1 is really good. It’s almost like Part 2 ruins it a little bit… and I’ve only read DH that one time – no re-reads, so it’s not like I’m talking like a die-hard fan. It all comes down to The WB wanting a last bit of Potter money grab.

      • Julili says:

        @amy, I ttly understand Snape and u are right: Ginny looking like Lily is so damn creepy. Like with Harry looking like his dad. So James and Lily are such a great couple they need to be reborn? Blasphemy if u ask me. HERMIONE IS THE ONE FOR HARRY!

        Oki, I just wrote like this huge essay about all the romance in HP but I erased. This is not the time nor the place…

        • Mirella says:

          @Julili, I rather ship Harry with Luna. Hermione was a good friend but always bored Harry to tears… there’s no passion in that hypotetical couple :P

        • amy says:

          @Julili, romance aside.

          The quality of the epilogue on the film is not as bad as on paper, it just… it’s really poor in comparison with the whole series. Not because the couples are awful, but the execution lends itself to be mocked – but then, that’s part of the problem with the source material.

          They really should have cast older versions of the actors, instead of aging them with makeup. It’s supposed to be 19 years later, yet they seem stuck in a time-loop where they got stuck with Muggle fahsion. Even Hermione, who’s Muggle-born looks like she never knew what Muggle fashion was.

          And they do say the name of Harry’s kid out loud, which is… pure cheese. LOL

  2. Rodrigo says:

    I’ll be watching this in a few hours. Seeing that you gave DHP2 3 stars means that I’ll probably enjoy it a bit more than you, Amy.

    • amy says:

      @Rodrigo, there’s a couple of LOL-worthy moments. More LOL maybe because Mirella was there LOLing as well.

      • Rodrigo says:

        @amy, There’s two things I’m expecting to dread when watching this: the Voldemort-Harry battle and the epilogue.

        I also have the idea that the final trailer is pretty much giving most of the stuff away. Sure it got you hyped, but would it also work against you and others?

        • amy says:

          @Rodrigo, it definitely should work against it. But besides from the two main trailers, I avoided all clips. Besides, I hadn’t read the book since it came out. Considering the last two books were my least favorite, the movies have been… pretty decent.

        • Rodrigo says:

          “There’s two things I’m expecting to dread when watching this: the Voldemort-Harry battle and the epilogue.”

          And David Yates/Steve Kloves didn’t disappoint me. I was right about it, lol.

          Had fun watching this… but those final minutes sucked.

  3. Castor says:

    Good to hear Alan Rickman gets his time to shine (he always does anyway). I’m really looking forward to this. But 3/5? I guess you were somewhat disappointed? I will definitely keep in mind that the epilogue sucks.

    • amy says:

      @Castor, it’s actually better than I was expecting. I really thought splitting the book into two parts was a mistake, and they really didn’t do much with it except making it a big battle.

      You should leave the movie before the “19 years later” title shows up. xD

      • Mirella says:

        @amy, No don’t! Stay for the crack XDDD It was unintentionally funny XD

        • amy says:

          @Mirella, but Castor is not a hardcore fan, so it will only anger him. You can only make fun of the epilogue, if you’ve actually read the thing. LOL

  4. Jay says:

    I’m willing to pay $100 to see this movie 10 times.

  5. Joel Burman says:

    You are spot on Amy. I’m totally with you all the way except for the epilogue I didn’t find it that awful that so many seem to do. However, I think your grade is half a star or so too high compared to your text.

    Well summed up and I have now officially given up watching non animation films in 3D.

    • amy says:

      @Joel Burman, well… I did kinda enjoy the film while watching it. Especially that bit when McGonagall said how much she wanted to use that spell. Of course, there were moments that I shouldn’t have laughed… like Malfoy Manor being right next to Hogwarts. It begs the question why Draco went all the way to Kings Cross.

      It’s just the thinking about the film. Like I said, it’s not exactly a horrible film, but as a stand alone film – it’s rather bland.

      About the epilogue, it’s surprising how palatable it was on the screen. It wasn’t going to be an amazing send off, because the source material for that is horrible… but at least what was on screen wasn’t horrible, just some giggle-worthy.

  6. Julili says:

    @mirella: DO NOT START A HP SHIP BATTLE HERE. I WILL BRING U DOWN WOMAN!

    • Castor says:

      @Julili,

      So uh Harry should have SO ended up with Hermione!!!!!!

      • Rodrigo says:

        @Castor, And that’s the bottom line ’cause Steve Kloves said so. :P

        • Julili says:

          @Rodrigo, wise man. Worse thing? JK admitted later that Harry and Hermione could have ended up together… GDI!

      • amy says:

        @Castor, LOL – but that’s just because Castor hates Bonnie Wright’s stone cold face on the movies. I think it was back when the fifth film was released (Book7 was already out) that people were suggesting that they should have re-cast the role of Ginny because not many people were feeling MovieGinny.

        Then again, what could have happened if there was a re-cast?

        • Julili says:

          @amy, Not Bonnie’s fault that Ginny was such a minor part in the books… pls u hardly knew anything about the girl, what was there to guide her?

      • Julili says:

        @Castor, U know it! *fiery fist*

      • Julili says:

        @Castor, Lol… we sure are. We went down there for a moment. Oh our ship!

  7. Julili says:

    @amy gah! my fandom! I weep!

  8. Juan Barquin says:

    Alright, I guess I’ll just go ahead and post some of my thoughts here. It’s not a bad movie, but it’s not the perfect picture every Potter fan wants it to be after the first viewing.

    Forced emotional cues everywhere, the excessive amount of rushing, some poor camerawork in certain scenes, and the lack of character development all contribute to my frustrations with this movie. The epilogue was much better on screen than on paper though – but still cheesy and painful in terms of make-up and aging. It draws you in as a fan in the moment with some of the action scenes, but a few of the others (Vold v Harry, Neville v Nagini) would have been excellent if better edited and not jumbled together awkwardly. Let’s not forget Steve Kloves rewriting every other line from the book from the original character over to Hermione. Most notable scenes: Gringotts & Snape’s Memories in the Pensieve. Most notable acting: Alan Rickman and Maggie Smith, even with extremely limited screen time.

    I want to say 3.5 because I really don’t know how far my love for HP can push past my grievances with the movie. While everyone surrounding me was sobbing in the theater, I only felt a teary-eyed moment for Snape’s past and that was that. This could have gone so much better and I’m sad to say that although I enjoyed myself, it’s really mediocre.

    • amy says:

      @Juan Barquin, to be honest – I’m an Emma and Hermione fan… so I have a biased for Kloves and his love for her. xD

      But the movie was pretty mediocre altogether.

      The Gringotts scene was pretty decent, but I was kind of disappointed at the execution to Snape’s scene… maybe because it was such a quick flashback that it made it seem rather cheesy. I just felt for GrownUpSnape.

      Without counting Deathly Hallows Part 1, considering how many he did, I have a iffy relationship with Yates. LOL

  9. Castor says:

    Now that I have seen it, I don’t mind that it was split into two parts. I look forward to seeing 7.1 and 7.2 back to back for an epic experience! :) If you had cut it down to a 3 hour epic finale, people would be all riled up about all the little bits that didn’t make the movie. I’d rather they take their time rather than rush things out when closing out a beloved franchise ;)

    • amy says:

      @Castor, there would be fans riled up about cutting things… if not there wouldn’t be fans of the Columbus-era xD

      Now, this is probably my own fault… but a lot of the battle that happens in 7.2 doesn’t really happen in the book, and a lot of what happened in the book was cut… so we’re on the same ground! LOL

      Is your review out yet? :)

      • Castor says:

        @amy, Yea it’s out. But you already know that :)

      • Rodrigo says:

        @amy, Fans riled up about cutting things are more book fans than Colombus fans. Most diehards crapped on almost every Potter film except for DH-Part 1. Somehow, that movie made them love it.

        • amy says:

          @Rodrigo, book fans generally liked Columbus because he pretty much put the whole books into his movies. They hated Cuaron with a passion for switching things around (which made the film really fresh). DH1 was successful in that it was very close to the book, but still changed enough things to keep it fresh with the new visuals and pace of the film. It was artsy enough and faithful.

          You could have fit all DH2 into 50min… but how long would that make Deathly Hallows as one movie? I could only cut about 20min of DH1 xD

          • my85 says:

            @amy, To be fair with Colombus, first two books were pretty short, so he & Kloves could get away with it without much problems.

            As for DH2, I could have cut at least 30-40 minutes and then add it to DH1.

  10. Julili says:

    Sooooooo who here wants a movie about Snape and Snape only?

  11. Maca says:

    Agreed! Snape was the best part… and Neville xD I think it started really goooddd… with Snape in the opening at the tower x(

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