Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

[Heretic]

I still rate DH1 over DH2. There's just something about DH1 that's so raw and realistic. And the pacing in the last 20 minutes or so in DH2 was awful. That's mainly what ruined it for me.

[Noctis]

I don't think there's anything wrong with it aside from the abrupt jump to Bella attacking Ginny.

[ddddeeee]

Neville's speech was horrible, as was the complete non reaction to 'dead' Harry. Bella's death was very lame as were all the smiles in the Great Hall, they must have forgot so many of their friends and family had died. The Epilogue was lame in the book so that can be excused.Voldemort's hug/laugh was amazing though.

[The Creator]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II - one hell of an epic adventure.

Here marks the end of the line, the final adventure of the acclaimed bildungsroman story of Harry Potter. Since 1997 with the publication of the first novel, Harry Potter has been a huge "it-factor" in the international literary and cinematic culture. The movie series launched in 2001 with the widely successful Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Philosopher's Stone). Within a decade, it had become the largest movie franchise of all time, and certainly one of the most impactful. So to see it all come to an end, as the books had four years earlier, was one hell of an experience, and certainly one of bittersweetness.

The final entry in the series is every bit as good as any of the films preceeding it, although it lags a bit behind its immediate predecessor. However, it easily trumps all the films in pure awesomess. It oozes orgasmic epicness in its many battle sequences and duels, although at times it doesn't achieve the level of epic majesty it ought to achieve. But it is not the epic visual feast that makes it a wonderful movie. It is the acting and the story, and here the film registers on many levels as a heartfelt, emotional conclusion to this generation's most provocative movie and literary series.

Fiennes and Rickman dominate their scenes as Voldemort and Snape, respectively, and Maggie Smith surprises with quick wit and charm as McGonagall. Radcliffe fills out his shoes excellently, rising to new heights in his best performance of the franchise as the titular character. And Watson is once more an energetic presence and one of the greatest in the film.

The movie features some of the boldest and most touching scenes of the movie. In particular, The Prince's Tale is the series single greatest moment. Other scenes, like Harry's march to his death and later King's Cross, are among the greatest in the series, making the movie an emotional rollercoaster that brought tears to my eyes. It was sad to finally let go of a series that has had a profound impact on my life and has been an endearing feature of my childhood. It was, in many ways, like finally saying goodbye to my childhood, almost as if this was the last part of my childhood that I needed to say goodbye to. For Harry Potter has been the biggest cultural event in my childhood, and it will always have a place in my heart as a magical adventure to cherish for ages.

A+

[Dementeleus]

B-

Edited December 23, 2011 by Telemachos

[Noctis]

I saw The Prince's Tale again, and for some reason, it resonated with me even more. The editing is utterly masterful and it was incredible to see a climax within the memories (Snape seeing Lily's dead body). I really have a new found appreciation for it.

[Heretic]

DH2 isn't my favourite film, but The Prince's Tales is definitely my favourite scene.

[The Creator]

DH2 isn't my favourite film, but The Prince's Tales is definitely my favourite scene.

Same here. Deathly Hallows 1 is better in numerous ways, but The Prince's Tale is a feat unrivaled by any other scene in the series (although I'd say DH1 has the second and third best scenes and is overall of a greater quality).

[darthdevidem01]

I wish I hadn't read any reviews before going in as it was very disappointing.Nowhere near as epic as reviews claimed but still such a good filmMy favorite scene was the manning of Hogwarts boundaries, the soldiers marching to the boundries and the magical protections with the music was excellent, what made it more engrossing was the 3D effect. Then of course pensieve scene with Snape.A

[Gopher]

I saw The Prince's Tale again, and for some reason, it resonated with me even more. The editing is utterly masterful and it was incredible to see a climax within the memories (Snape seeing Lily's dead body). I really have a new found appreciation for it.

I completely agree. This sequence reaches an emotional height that Potter has hardly ever come to.

I bought DH1 and DH2 on Blu-Ray (for literaly eight dollars apiece!) to see how the entire installment played out. It's better as a whole, but I still felt DH2 was noticably weaker. The middle (of DH2) is the best part, the beginning is forgettable and the end is disappointing.

[Noctis]

It took me a very long time to come to a conclusion as to which I preferred. DH1, like I've said, is the most personal film I've ever seen. But I give the slight edge to DH2 due to scenes like The Prince's Tale, Courtyard Apocalypse, and the Resurrection scene.

Oh, and Gopher, I actually saw DH2 straight without any pauses or forwards last week. The pacing is pretty great. The ending is great for me. My favorite part of the ending was when Kingsley shields some of the people with his spell, Neville steps forward, gets blasted away by Voldemort, and then it immediately cuts to Narcissa/Draco running off the bridge. Amazing little sequence.

Narcissa/Draco on the bridge was one of my favorite little moments.

Edited December 31, 2011 by Noctis

[darthdevidem01]

Narcisaa/Draco on the bridge was amazing.Not many people noticed how well done that moment was, without saying anything it said a lot.

[Noctis]

I agree completely. I've always loved the story of the Malfoys - and Narcissa's lie was a truly great cinematic moment. The music used as Narcissa gets up, turns around and pronounces Harry dead was just utter perfection.A scene I truly enjoyed was when Voldemort began beating Harry with his hands and feet was because it showed how extremely desperate he was. Voldemort easily views physical beating beneath him when he could use his wand - so to see him retort to brute physicality was great.

Edited December 31, 2011 by Noctis

[cookie]

The entire climax felt lousy and underwhelming to me. The editing jumped all over the place (especially the sudden cut to Bellatrix attacking Ginny) and it felt like several sequences were missing. I don't know what caused the sudden lack in any pacing because the pacing in the rest of the film was for the most part fine.

[Noctis]

Am I the only one annoyed at how some members who enjoy the film overall focus only on the bad things?

[The Creator]

Most cringeworthy moment is Neville's speech, but I love Voldemort's WTF face when Harry rolls out of Hagrid's arms alive.

[Noctis]

I love Neville's speech. Fine, you can walk to the Burrow, bitches.

[Ariadne]

A-To me, this is the best HP movie I've seen. Mainly because it finishes the series and I loved everything involving Snape and Dumbledore. I thought the final battle was fine, but then I haven't read the books.

[Noctis]

In terms of casual fans and non-readers, DH2 is easily the most popular.

[Dementeleus]

I'm the outlier.