Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Review

This weekend is all about Harry Potter- just as much of the summer was about him, along with pretty much the last 10-15 years in general. After all that buildup, all these adventures, and all the billions racked in along the way, such a saga needs a grand conclusion. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was judged to be just that in book form, although the movie form got off to a mixed start in Part 1. Yet Part 2 has already more than made up for that with critics, and now fans- especially those who were there from the beginning- will get to agree with them.

In the entirety of Part 1, Harry, Ron and Hermione could only kill one of the Horcruxes that contained Lord Voldemort's immortal, blackened soul. But now they have to hurry up, especially with the Dark Lord ready to lay waste to Hogwarts if he doesn't get Harry. Yet with Professor Snape as Headmaster, in place of the one he murdered, the school isn't exactly in fine shape already. But it still gets worse even as Harry returns to find and destroy the final Horcruxes, in a journey that leads him to a fate and destiny almost two decades in the making.

Not only does Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 have to be judged by the shadows of the past seven films, but by all the other grand and not so grand finales in movie history. However, given the franchise's lack of a true bomb, or an entirely mediocre installment, there should have been no doubts that Part 2 would be worthwhile in some fashion. The question was whether it would be worthwhile but not great, or reach the instant classic level that the series has often struggled to hit.

Some can feel a bit nervous in the first minutes, as the slow Horcrux hunting that defined Part 1 is resumed again. But the scope finally widens with an epic decent into Gringotts Bank, and only picks up from there back at Hogwarts. Yet the ultimate battle for Hogwarts itself has to share time with another Horcrux search, which often breaks the momentum.

However, the effects and spectacle we do get are as pulse pounding as hoped, although many money shots were spoiled in about a year's worth of trailers. And inside, the spectacle builds up with a return to the Chamber of Secrets- complete with a landmark romantic moment- and a jaw dropping escape from the Room of Requirement.

But the real gut punches come in the second half, as certain long awaited secrets about Harry, Voldemort and Snape are finally uncovered. In fact, the now famous revelations from Snape's head put the entire series in a new, devastating light, to say nothing of what it does for Harry. This is where David Yates, like J.K. Rowling before him, finds the true power of the finale and the series, as they invite us to share the ravages of Harry's pain, final revelations and destiny- and in how he is able to go on anyway. Yet he is not the only one, as the likes of Ron, Hermione and even Neville Longbottom prove.

For some reason, despite the extreme length of many of the movies, Deathly Hallows Part 2 is the shortest of the series. As other critics have cited, this does dull a little of the impact, and causes a few things that shouldn't be rushed to be rushed. In addition, like the book, there isn't always clarity in how certain characters can live and die at the end. And like much of the Harry Potter movies, there have to be some fits and starts at some points, which is even more frustrating at a time like this.

But whenever the movies did truly soar, they soared high enough to negate the other parts, and Deathly Hallows Part 2 is perhaps the best example. Of course, it probably helps more if one has been a Harry Potter reader or watcher from the beginning, to get the full impact- myself still being only a watcher. However, Yates fully proves his worth after helming the last four films, in making the epic parts truly epic, the emotional catharsis hit hard, and in making the final goodbye touch our hearts while barely needing a word.

The finale serves as a victory lap for not just Yates, but the characters themselves, and their actors as well. The journey of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson has already gone down in lore, especially at the end, as they've grown up along with their characters and stayed upright along the way. This is best defined in Radcliffe, who was actually the weak link in Sorcerer's Stone, and took more time to settle in than Grint and Watson did. But it all pays off here, as Radcliffe lays Harry's despair and bravery bare, in the most heartfelt sendoff possible for the Boy Who Lived. As such, Grint and Watson have a little less responsibility, yet they knock out their shining moments one last time as well. The same also goes for other youngsters like Matthew Lewis's Neville, Tom Felton's Draco and Evanna Lynch's Luna.

As for the adults- a.k.a 75 percent of the entire British Screen Actor's Guild- the likes of Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith and Michael Gambon run with their final laps as well. After being in just five minutes each in the last several movies, Fiennes finally gets to truly show the full extent of Voldemort's power, cruelty- and even his weakness. Smith's Professor McGonagall and Julie Walters' Molly Weasley also get their big action moments at last, while Gambon gives Professor Dumbledore a proper, and revelatory, final farewell. Yet the biggest responsibility goes to Rickman, in the lynchpin moment of the whole saga, and he does not disappoint- as if anything less was expected.

Now that Harry Potter's place in book and movie lore is complete, the Muggles, wizards and boy-turned men wizards in our world have nothing more to wait for, unless Rowling has another spinoff left in her after all. It all started with the release of a mere children's book in the mid 90's, and now it ends with perhaps the biggest movie opening of all time. In between, there are seven books to pass on forever, as well as eight movies, all with a perfect record of quality- something which the vast majority of book and movie franchises cannot brag about.

But the film world can officially complete its perfect record with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, although the movies themselves were never exactly flawless. Yet they always had more perfect moments than not, and Deathly Hallows Part 2 hits more heights in its perfect moments- both the epic and the quieter ones- than perhaps any other in the series. Indeed, all is well.