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7 Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part Two
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Director: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Alan Rickman
The Battle of Hogwarts had so much to live up to but for the most part it really did hit the high notes. Forget the slow-build of Deathly Hallows Part One , forget the weird Harry and Hermione dancing interlude, forget even poor Dobby, Deathly Hallows Part Two eclipsed everything that had gone before with a properly epic, fitting end to a much-loved series.
There were so many lovely moments – Neville’s speech to Voldermort and his army, Henry V in a fetching cardigan; Mrs Weasley taking on Bellatrix LeStrange; Professor McGonagall arming the stone soldiers of Hogwarts; Snape’s final demise; the Malfoys stealing away from the battle – all small, human vignettes in the wider story of the final battle between He Who Must Not Be Named and The Boy Who Lived.
That said there were some flaws. David Yates suffers in part from the adaptations that have gone before: Harry having a sudden moment where he realises that he can “sense” the Horcruxes feels very much like a script editor suddenly went. “Oh, hold on, we’ve not explained how Harry can find the Horcruxes, quick, make something up” – but even charitably leaving that aside there’s still a couple of notable missed opportunities. We appreciate the body count is high, but Hedwig, Lupin, Tonks and Fred’s demises barely get a passing shot much less a moment of pause. Surely cutting a minute from Dumbledore’s overlong Gandalf-the-White moment would have given some space to give everyone their final nod?
These are minor niggles though in an otherwise satisfying end to the films. While anyone who loves the books will always feel a pang at the things left out, overall as a film franchise the boy wizard (and his opinionated author overseeing every detail) has done good, leaving us with a series of films which can be enjoyed over and over again. Although maybe we’ll switch off before the “everyone’s old, you can see that because of the cushions up jumpers and talc in the hair” flash forward to remember it at its best…
Best moment: Neville defiantly standing up to Voldemort.
Narin Bahar
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