Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two

⭐⭐⭐⭐ based on 1 review.

tl;dr: The epic payoff to the darkness of the last few films, creating a cracking ending to a classic franchise. Magical!

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Wizarding World

Series

Harry Potter (films)

Review

Spoilers Ahead: My reviews are not spoiler-free. You have been warned.

Somehow, this is genuinely a first time viewing for me. I'm not really too sure what happened that meant I never got round to watching the final film in the franchise, but I now realise I've been missing out.

The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is the conclusion I have been craving, without ever realising it. The battles are epic and moving, with clever moments of comedy interwoven with grand, sweeping scenes which genuinely feel like the world is teetering on a knife-edge. It's not immensely clever stuff, but it is damn impactful and completely riveting. It also provides the payoff to all the dark, brooding, depressing build-up of Part 1 (and, to a lesser degree, The Half-Blood Prince as well).

Do I feel that the revelation of Snape's true character could have been a little better handled and impactful? Yes, but Alan Rickman closes out his role on a seriously impressive performance and the scene with Harry and the pensieve was very well done (that CGI effect was on point throughout the films actually). I also felt the moment that Neville uses the Sword of Gryffindor could have been done better. I've heard so much about that scene and how much of a fist-pump moment it is that it felt kind of deflating actually watching it. Maybe it's just suffering from being hyped up but I definitely feel the music and framing could have made it more epic somehow.

Overall though I've not felt as connected with the Potter franchise as I have since watching all the films again. In particular, seeing the ending done so well and on such a grand scale has completely reawakened my love of these characters and seriously amped up my anticipation for Fantastic Beasts later this year.