Best for Last

The eighth and final installment of the Harry Potter film series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” is a sob fest.

It’s no secret that quite a few characters are killed off.

Over the course of eight films, they have become so personable to everyone, witnessing their demise feels like losing a friend.

Director David Yates somehow manages to convey the intimacy of loss even in the midst of huge, fantastical battles.

The acting by all parties is magnificent and better than ever before.
All of this is befitting for a film carrying a hefty weight of public anticipation.
Yates (with J.K. Rowling producing) takes the last installment and launches it above expectations at the speed of a Nimbus 2000.

For true Harry Potter fans, especially those who have read the books, this adaptation is more than most of us could have ever hoped for.

Snape’s narrative is gut-wrenching when brought to life, and the final battle for Hogwarts is even more grand than the book described it to be.
Moments that seemed like they couldn’t be lifted off of the page at all are conveyed through single, iconic shots.

In one, Voldemort stands at the front of his army as the magical protection cocooning Hogwarts cracks and floats down, burning like so many scraps of parchment.
Images like these are scattered throughout the film and stay burned in your memory well after you leave the theater.

In short, it is a triumph and undoubtedly the best of the series.
Friends dragged along but unfamiliar with the Potter saga can still enjoy it, although they may be confused by certain plot points.

It’s part action, part horror and part drama. Voldemort, likened to the Hitler of the wizarding world, is terrifying as a truly evil maniac, deluded and living in his own head.
Daniel Radcliffe’s portrayal of Harry as a conflicted hero invites empathy, and rooting for him comes naturally.

Essentially, the film is the battle of good versus true evil, and everyone can understand that.

It is the film’s complexity, however, that sets it apart from its predecessors.
Watching the film is much like reading the book: exciting the first time through, but even better upon closer inspection.

The now grown actors have had time to mature and can present a full range of nuanced human emotion.

It is this, combined with the imagery, the music and the story itself, that creates poignancy enough to bring the audience to tears.

This is not a film you will forget soon; it is everything we go to the movies for in one creatively wrapped package.

Though Potter’s world is the ultimate escape, the ideas it grapples with are surprisingly sympathetic. And that is what makes it so great.

By Kelly Fritz