Last train to Hogwarts

Image: www.cinemablend.com 

The eighth Harry Potter film, part two of the “Deathly Hallows”, is as good an adaptation of the climactic confrontation between the boy wizard and you-know-who as can be. Between emotional strife, romantic reconciliation and a long, spectacular battle, one of filmdom’s most financially successful franchises comes to a vivid end. Where “Part I” was about character interaction and setup, about preparing mentally and strategically for the final showdown, “Part II” is for most of its running time all about the showdown. It’s the franchise’s “Kill Bill”, but with the bloody part last. 

After the numerous trials of the past ten years, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) proceed with the final challenges in their fight against the forces of darkness, the center of which is Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). In addition to the dark lord, the young heroes also need to contend with the treacherous Snape (Alan Rickman) and locate the Horcruxes that house pieces of Voldemort’s soul. By now, the many familiar faces – the teachers at Hogwarts; the Death Eaters; the Weasley family – need no reintroduction, and the film proceeds swiftly and accurately in dealing with these characters. As with “Part I”, much of what happens carries great weight, and when certain things are revealed, it happens with considerable gravitas. 

Part of the series’ continuing success (I maintain that there is no bad “Harry Potter” movie) has to do with the long-term involvement of screenwriter Steve Kloves, who surely knows the characters and their drives as well as Rowling. While Kloves ensured narrative integrity, the story benefited from the different visual approaches brought to the material by directors such as Chris Columbus and Alfonso Cuaron and finally David Yates for the last movies. It was wonderful to see Hogwarts – particularly its geography – change from film to film. Since this magical place exists in the imagination as much as anywhere else, why shouldn’t it be open to change? Technically, these movies have always been top notch, and it is again the case here, where a dragon is convincingly brought to life and non-human warriors are recruited to fight on both sides. 

The series started out with two children’s movies, proceeded to more mature themes and styles and finally became serious minded, committed adventures pitting a vulnerable good against a near absolute evil. Even if many suspected that good would eventually triumph, all were certain that it would happen at great cost, and it does. Throughout the films, the actors grew into their characters and surely only the most hostile of purists would still chastise Radcliffe’s acting. The young actors are all superb, with Grint having obtained an appropriately cool, weathered look along the way. But finally, the star of these movies is Alan Rickman, whose Severus Snape is a deeply wounded creature. What he achieves in his limited screen time in “Part II” is nothing short of incredible. 

If I have one complaint about the last film, it’s that it’s too short; this is a selfish remark based on the notion that I would not have minded spending more time in the familiarity of the many environments of  Rowling and Yates' meticulously created universe. When she first sat down in the coffee shop all those years ago to write “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”, could the author have had any idea that it would come to this? “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II” is the perfectly kinetic complement to its character-driven predecessor, and a great finale to an overall momentous and very re-watchable franchise. 

Note: I saw the film in 2-D, and the suggestion of depth certainly does not require a third dimension. 

The “Harry Potter” movies in order of personal preference:
“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Parts I & II”
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”
“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”
“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”