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- Movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II
- Rating: PG-13
- Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter
- Written By: Steve Kloves (screenplay), J.K. Rowling (book)
- Directed By: David Yates
- Distributor: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
- Original Year of Release: 2011
- Extras: See Below
- Series: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II Blu-Ray Review
The Final Potter Film hits on all cylinders By
Tim Janson
November 12, 2011
Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II
© Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
After eight films and ten years, the Harry Potter saga comes to a close with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. An entire generation of fans have grown up with the Potter books and films making the final entry a bittersweet parting. David Yates, who has directed the last four films in the series, provides fans a rousing and sentimental conclusion with a chance to say goodbye to many of the characters fans have grown to love, particularly those like Hagrid and Professor McGonagall who have been seen sparingly, it at all, in the last few films. We also saw the series itself grown and evolve from a somewhat innocent, modern day Wizard of Oz-styled fantasy geared towards children, to one that became darker and more menacing over the final four entries.
Part two picks up right where the first part ended with Voldemort (Fiennes) finding the Elder Wand in Dumbledore’s tomb. Harry, Hermione, and Ron are still working to destroy the remaining Horcruxes. Harry enlists the aid of the Goblin Griphook (Warwick Davis) to enter Grimgott’s bank and destroy the Horcrux located in Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault. Another Horcrux lies within Hogwart’s walls and Harry has to enlist the aid of Dumbledore’s brother Aberforth in order to sneak back into the castle.
While part one was the tentative, calm before the final storm, part two takes off at a breakneck pace from the first act and barely slows down. As Harry hunts down the last of the Horcruxes, Voldemort is gathering an army to assault Hogwarts and kill Harry. Deathly Hallows Part Two also gives some underrated characters a chance to shine and they provide some of the most memorable moments in the film. As Harry is discovered in the castle it is Professor McGonagall who duels new Headmaster Severus Snape…and defeats him. It is the oft-bullied and belittled Neville Longbottom who shows his true mettle in the final battle, leading the attack against Voldemort’s forces. And it is Molly Weasley, the mom who provides perhaps the film’s biggest stand up and cheer moment as she faces off in a battle to the death with the evil and psychotic Bellatrix. It almost makes Harry’s final showdown with Voldemort anti-climactic.
With all of the chaos Yates still manages to make sure we get the final fates of characters like Dumbledore, Snape, the Malfoys, and Ollivander the old wandmaker played by John Hurt. And ultimately in a final scene, the fate of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, 19 years after the events in this film. Yates being at the helm for the final four entries helped to provide some consistency that had been lost after Chris Columbus left after directing the first two films.
This film serves as a testament to the overall quality of the series. Some films were better than others obviously, but amazingly none of the eight films were lackluster. It points to the strength of J.K. Rowlings’s original stories; the strength of the Screenwriters and Directors in hitting the keynotes, especially in the final films where the novels were much longer; and in the strength of the actors who grew their roles as they grew onscreen. Considering the failure of so many other attempts at bringing juvenile and teen fantasy epics to the big screen, the success of the Potter series is all the more amazing. This will remain a popular series for generations to come.
Blu-Ray Extras
Maximum Movie Mode – watch the film in this mode to see pop up behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with cast and crew. Includes several focus point short features that can be viewed during this mode or separately and cover things like Aberforth Dumbledore, building the Room of Requirement set, and Molly Weasley’s duel with Ballatrix.
Final Cast Farewells (3:07) – the cast shares their thoughts as the production on the final film wraps
A conversation with J.K. Rowling and Daniel Radcliffe (53:00) – A great feature! Writer Rowling and actor Radcliffe sit down and take turns interviewing each other about the series. Rowling reveals she thought that Raddliffe and Emma Watson were too “good looking” and not the geeky characters she envisioned while writing the novels. Rowling mentions she became less involved in the filmmaking side as she realized the films were in good hands. Radcliffe mentions he had an allergic reaction to the Harry Potter glasses which caused his skin to breakout.
The Goblins of Gringott’s (10:53) – creating the various Goblins of Gringott’s. Warwick Davis who starred as Griphook is also an agent for little people and helped to recruit many of those used in the scenes at Gringott’s.
The Women of Harry Potter (22:30) – A look at the strong female characters of the series including Hermione, Professor McGonagall, Molly Weasley, and Bellatrix
Deleted Scenes (6:33) – 8 scenes but they are very short and do not add much to the film
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London (1:33) – A promotion bit about this London tourist location
Pottermore (1:07) – promotional piece on Rowling’s new website.
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Movie was really good, sad to see it end. The extras really sucked, OK pretty much just a long interview, Sorry I want more behind the scenes.... Sets, SPFX, props the Goblins was the only interesting extra IMO.
And I could have lived the rest of my life not knowing
Spoiler..................
Dumbledor was queer.