The end of an era for those who love it or loathe it, i having read the books devotedly can tell you im a lover, and I usually despise book to movie adaptations. Admittedly the directors over the past decade have done the films justice. I wasn't please with David Yates when I watched the fifth movie, but have had to endure him to the bitter end. After having watched this movie I can humbly say that i give him his 'props'
I would advise that you re-watch the first part as i didnt and there were a few moments where my brows were furrowed in confusion. In light of that, here are a few choice words that should act as a reminder.
PREVIOUSLY ON HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS....
Horcurx, Wedding, Quest, Alone, Woods, Woods, Power, Woods, Woods, Torture, Dumbledore, Voldermort, Death.
The film picks up exactly where it left off, which i thought was a good thing cause it helped bring back the memories of what had happened at the end of the last film. (See above)
I would describe the pace of the movie as a classic snowball effect, slowly getting things rolling before escalating into a whirlwind of beautiful and chaotic mayhem. To get the ball rolling we had Hermione disguising herself as Bellatrix Lestrange in order to sneak into her bank vault at Gringots in order to find a Horcrux. The end result left our fearless trio escaping on a dragon which they happen tof ly unnoticed through central London.
What was also refreshing was that we got to see a lot about what Voldermort was doing while Harry and the gang we're preparing to take him down, as opposed to just seeing sketches through Harry's mind. Its almost like a break from the madness that's happening, as the creators of the destruction sit back and plot their next move. After these interludes we would plunge straight back into the middle of the mayhem, the known and the unknown, the young and the experienced side by side duelling for their lives.
It did get to a point where i thought. Its only been an hour, are they going to just battle for the rest of the movie? I'm happy to say that it was all well orchestrated, the falls and rises in tension excitement and explosive scenes didn't hide the overall sense of foreboding.
There were a few touching death scenes. Seeing the bodies of the characters that we'd read about or watched, joked with and sided against laying motionless in front of us tugged on more than a few heart strings.
Namely the (un)expected death of Severus Snape (Allan Rickman) which i thought was so beautifully played out in context to doing the book justice and in forming the sole movie watchers of what was really going on beneath those greasy locks. The good thing that came from his untimely demise was that we got to get inside his head, past all the dark brooding emo exterior to his soft centre that told a tale of Love, friendship and devotion. (No Homo)
Its also safe to say that after 10 years how could we not expect the acting to be more than on point, especially as we come to and end with our sole characters in the not to distant future. I think this section could have been a little longer and could have explained a little more about what the characters, considering we've been living vicariously through them for the past 8 movies if for no other reason than closure. But i guess Harry Potter was done once and for all with that deathly halo hanging round him as he, Hermione and Ron wave good bye to the next generation of witches and wizards on plat form 9 and 3/4.
