Favorite Franchises: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
Directed by: David Yates


Plot Summary: After breaking into Gringotts Bank and retrieving another Horcrux, Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts with his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The school of witchcraft and wizardry is not the school it used to be, with Professor Snape named the new headmaster and tons of Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters surrounding the school, constantly looking for Harry and his friends. In a final effort to defeat Voldemort, Harry rounds up the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's Army, and the rest of the Hogwarts professors and students to fight the enemy forces and buy him more time so he can find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes.


After 7 movies and 10 years of filmmaking, the final installment of the Harry Potter saga had arrived with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2. After reviewing these films for a month now, I'm come to the realization that these things haven't aged the greatest since ending a little over 4 years ago. Yet, I still get a lot of enjoyment out of them because I've been a fan since I was a child. This is THE nostalgic series for people from my generation. Just look at the fans out there, dedicated to getting tattoos and wearing their merchandise wherever they go. We've grown up with these films, so we can accept the flaws and value what works really well with the films. Like I said in my review of Deathly Hallows - Part 1, the story was flushed out in that film so we could have an action-heavy finale with Deathly Hallows - Part 2, and while I wish there was more dedication to the story from Part 1, there is still a ton of story that gets wrapped up in Part 2 thanks to the final moments of these wonderful characters we've grown up with. On top of that, we get one of the great final battle scenes in movie history with a war between good and evil wizards that lasts for nearly an hour. Let's get right to it and talk about these final moments of our favorite Harry Potter characters.

For the last time, Daniel Radcliffe plays the iconic wizard Harry Potter. This is the culmination of all of Harry's struggles, all his challenges, all his heartbreak, all his sacrifice. We finally get to see Harry come face to face with Lord Voldemort, played by Ralph Fiennes, This is the time where Harry really needs to be the Chosen One, the hero the wizarding world is depending on. He literally needs to lead an army in a war against the forces of evil. And he's 17-YEARS-OLD! That's quite the accomplishment for a wizard whose biggest challenge a few films ago was puberty. It's pretty much everything we're used to with Harry, except now it's the fight that REALLY matters. The stakes are the highest they'll ever be and we have to see Harry have the courage to do whatever it takes to bring it all to an end.

Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, played by Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, FINALLY have their big romantic moment, which fans of the books have been waiting on for years. Granted it comes up in a really strange way in the middle of a battle sequence, but it still had to be done. These two also share in a heroic moment by returning to the Chamber of Secrets to destroy a Horcrux, but don't really do much else afterwards. We see tons of other characters get heroic moments in the final battle, but the big payoff for Hermione and Ron is finally accepting that they love each other. I'm sure there's a bunch of people who love that mushy stuff, but something about it just doesn't make the same impact. If anything, I'd call it the weakest of the character subplots in the film, but that's just me.

The thing I love about Deathly Hallows - Part 2 is that we finally see 2 of the most unsung heroes of the franchise finally get their glorious moments. The first is Neville Longbottom, an unassuming, clumsy classmate of Harry's played by Matthew Lewis. For 7 films, this kid was kicked around and bullied by others, usually the butt of other peoples' jokes. In this film, Neville stands tall as a true hero and leads Dumbledore's Army in the war against Voldemort's forces. In the span of this battle, I truly believe the trio of heroes becomes a quartet thanks to Neville. Without giving much away, he actually has the guts to stand up to Lord Voldemort himself when Hogwarts looks defeated, and in that moment, proves that he is one of the bravest young wizards alive. While our three main heroes have had constant development over the 8 films, Neville is the character that has the strongest development from the first film to the last one, and it's easy to see why he is a constant favorite among fans.

There's one character I have been saving for the very end. One who has been a constant key player in Harry's life over the course of these 8 films. And the character that I would say is the greatest character in the entire Harry Potter series, Professor Severus Snape, played by Alan Rickman. To give some insight about what makes Snape so great is Rickman's dedication to the part. I refuse to spoil this, although shame on you if you haven't read the books or seen the movies or even heard about this plot twist yet, but I will say that Snape has been guarding a secret of his throughout the entire franchise that we don't know about until Deathly Hallows - Part 2. J.K. Rowling told Rickman the twist all the way back when they started filming Sorcerer's Stone and he told NO ONE. That's a secret that he kept to himself for the greater good of the character for 10 YEARS! Give that man a medal! No, give that man an OSCAR! The scene where his secret is revealed is one of the most emotional scenes in the franchise, if not the BEST scene in the entire franchise. When I read it in the book, I cried buckets. I then spent a year preparing myself for seeing it on the big screen and cried just as hard. It was beautiful and well worth the wait. It also creates a film moment that changes how you look at the previous 7 films forever, so thank you J.K. Rowling and Alan Rickman for bringing this amazing character's story to life both on page and screen.

The theme for the final film's DVD bonus features is the young child actors from Sorcerer's Stone growing up to who they are at the end of Deathly Hallows - Part 2. Not only are they great characters who all get their heroic moments, but the actors all prove to be great people throughout the 10 year journey of making the Harry Potter series. Never before was there a series held so close together to the point where we have the chance to see 5 or 6 main characters start off as children and naturally progress into adults. Even more enjoyable, for a fan like myself, is to be a young child (I was 8) at the start of this series and growing into an adult while these films were being made. I was 17, almost 18, when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 was released and was a month away from starting college. Even if I can bash a lot of the moments and decisions that are in these films, I'm still grateful that we have them. I grew up with them. I'm a fan of the books and the movies. They aren't perfect and 100% accurate, but they have an amazingly talented cast of iconic characters, spellbinding creatures and effects, whimsical music, and an epic story tying the themes of growing up with the constant struggle of good vs. evil. I don't know about you, but I'd call that a success. It's a filmmaking accomplishment that we may never see again in this lifetime (unless you count Boyhood, but even that was a tightly edited 3 hour film as opposed to an 8 film franchise), so I'm thankful that I was around to experience this one.


Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 is a great finale for all viewers who have invested their time and energy in loving the Harry Potter series. At the end of the day, the ultimate choice in enjoying these movies is whether or not you actually like the concept of Harry Potter. If you think it's going to be stupid and a waste of time, this isn't the series for you. But if you love the story and the characters from the books, then it's a no brainer that you should see the films and own them in your collections. For my money's worth, go for the Ultimate Edition DVDs, packed with tons of bonus features that any moviegoer can appreciate.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 and movie images are copyrighted by Warner Bros.