Ed's Review Dot Com

Heyday Films, Moving Picture Company (MPC), Warner Bros. Pictures

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, John Hurt, Robbie Coltrane

All good things must come to an end. When we left Harry and Ron and Hermione in Part One, Valdemort had just stolen the elder wand giving him supreme power which is not good for the good guys. The three friends have been tracking down and destroying the horcruxes one by one, each one weakening Valdemort a little more. So now that he’s at his weakest is the time for Harry to try one last time to destroy him. But there is so much we still don’t know. Professor Snape finally shows his true colors and his memories fill us in on the story of what happened prior and on the night of the Potter family’s demise and the thing that started Harry on his quest. It an awesome battle and one that might destroy everything we know, including the beloved Hogwarts School we’ve all come to know and love over the years. Face to face Harry and Valdemort battle to the bitter end, but we know Hermione and Ron and a few surprising other heroes will come through with the help he needs in the end.

This was a nearly perfect ending to the story we’ve all been following for the last decade or more. There is enough warmth, mystery, suspense, treachery, and down right good fun that makes this a fitting end to the story. I chose to pay the price of 3 movies and watch this one in IMAX 3-D and it was well worth it. The two hours and ten minutes flew by, and the wrap up at the end of the story is very satisfying to see what happens to those that survive the final battle. What awesome special effects and CGI characters. They are all believable and have been so much fun over the years.

MINOR SPOILER BELOW:

If this movie suffers from any minor weakness, this must be it. I once played a video game for weeks called Diablo. We were chasing the very devil himself in Diablo and it got harder and harder until it was nearly impossible. Finally you walk around a corner, and there he is!! The final battle! Diablo was much weaker than the regular monsters three levels above him, and you’re left with a…..”Is that all there is?” finish? It was a bit of a disappointment preparing for armeggedon and getting a wimpy Satan who is killed without much effort. Well, Valdemort really goes down pretty damn easy too. But the difference here is that all that the good guys did before to weaken him and take away his advantages made him pretty lame in the very end, but he got what he deserved.

END SPOILER

By now we all know the characters and the actors who portrayed them, so there is no need to go into great length about how they performed their roles. Professor Minerva McGonagall comes through, as does some of the others, in a big way. Hagrid is here, he survived till the last battle, and even Neville Longbottom manages to help out after all when he’s needed. No more need be said about the dastardly Snape who, as I said, showed his true colors and made his position perfectly clear. All in all it was a great ride. The sound was awsome, the picture crystal clear on the IMAX screen, and the whole adventure superb. The only down side was that 3/4 of the way through the previews, a family with a bunch of little children came in and sat right behind us. The kids rattled bags and packages, kicked the seat, and talked and talked throughout the whole film. It’s annoying when people do that. It’s way over the heads of a 4 or 6 year old, and they get bored in a 2 hour movie marathon. I would have gladly coughed up the price of a babysitter to have some peace and quiet in the theater for a movie of this magnitude. I am becoming a fan of the idea of over 21 theaters where children and teens are not permitted. It sounds like a better idea every time this kind of thing happens.

Enjoy the end of Potter, and hopefully with the great quality of sound and picture, you won’t have some little kids detract from the experience.

Here is the link to my review for Part 1.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog