MOVIE NEWS: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Okay, and… exhale! Over the past 14 years, the folks behind the Harry Potter series have released seven books (eight if you count The Tales of Beetle the Bard) and eight movies — and each of them has been a big event. In fact, the biggest event of them all, the release of the eighth and final movie in the series, is happening today. I got a chance to catch the flick at a preview screening on Tuesday, and I’m here to share my thoughts.

When we last saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione, they were going through some pretty dark times — avoiding He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named (aka “Lord Voldemort”) and trying to track down and destroy several objects (“horcruxes”) that are the key to his power.

Now, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, it’s time for the three friends to face off against the wicked wizard in the ultimate showdown of good versus evil. But will they perish or prevail? You’ll have to see the movie (or, you know, read the book or spoilers elsewhere on the internet) to find out!

Here are a few is one observations about the movie:

1) It is what you want it to be. Normally in my reviews, I like to come up with three separate discussion topics, but here I think one will suffice. That’s partly because I already talked about the first half of this movie (see my review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 here), and partly because, well, there’s only one thing you really need to say: this movie does what you want it to do, and is an excellent end to the series.

For fans of the books, there really aren’t going to be any surprises here. You know how it ends. But the way the story is brought to the screen is fantastic. The acting, special effects, and story pacing are all good. It brings back all the necessary characters, sews up all the plotlines, gives us an amazing final battle scene, and does it all in only about two hours.

Put simply, it’s the movie a lot of us have been hoping for. So, good job, Potter people!

In summation, if you’re a fan of the series and have seen all the movies leading up to this one, this is absolutely for you. However, if you haven’t read the books or seen the other movies, this is not a good entry point. The movie starts in mid-stream (or, more accurately, mid-book) and doesn’t slow down to answer a lot of questions.

Also, as I’ve said in the past, the books and movies get a lot darker as they go along, so starting with the earlier books and movies allows you to build up to the seriousness (not to mention scariness) of the final chapter.

What do you think, OWL readers? Will you see this movie? Have you seen the others in the series?  Let me know in the comments below!

Have a good weekend.

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com