Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

There are a few things in Deathly Hallows Part 2 that bothered me, but overall they do not stop the movie from being an amazing adaptation of the book. It's a well-paced, action packed movie that takes place almost entirely on the one day of the Battle of Hogwarts and the Gringott's break in.

Some of the events are reordered, the events around Neville's sorting hat discovery are expanded a bit into greater action sequences, and the investigation to find Hepzibah Smith's cup is definitely rewritten (and the backstory is cut), but it's all done in a way that serves the plot and ensures that the events are clear to movie fans who have not read the books.

Kloves knew which moments to keep to avoid fan mutiny (like Molly's famous line). He also added in a few moments for the fans-- and here is where I'm bothered. A character in the book who had an implied bite from Fenrir but was not killed ended up dead and Kloves inserted a non-canon ship for the sake of fans-- one that I'm convinced would be a disaster, even if I adore these two characters. 

One other thing made me raise an eyebrow. "At the close" (which will mean nothing to non-book fans and therefore be spoiler-free) Harry mentions makes a reference to Teddy, a new character that was never mentioned or introduced or lead up to in either of the Deathly Hallows movies. It's especially jarring as the timeline of the last book, as indicated by the seemingly cold weather, seems to be condensed down. There was no room for a pregnancy there and Teddy's father never told Harry "I'm a dad" at any point. I'd have rather they left him out than make people who didn't read the books go "when did that happen?" The fact that these are my only complaints about the movie, however, proves how amazing of a job Yates, Kloves, and the whole team did.

Every shot was like a painting. The sets were all monumental. The costumes were well designed. As usual, Luna's blonde hair and pastel dress among the sea of brunettes in black robes makes her the focal point of every shot she's in.

Deaths were handled with respect and an appropriate level of performance. There were quite a few tears in the theater and the girl behind me probably just needed a whole box of tissues. The top performances of the film were Ala Rickman as Severus Snape (Stop crying, Alan Rickman, you're breaking my heart!), Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort (he never stoops to just playing angry and evil. There are levels of panic and vulnerability in his villian that made him captivating to watch), and Kelly MacDonald as Helena Ravenclaw.

As for the epilogue. I read that they reshot it with less makeup, trusting the audience to trust that 19 years later statement. The makeup I had seen on the first shoot was too old. 19 years after Harry is 18 is 37, not 50. I'm glad they fixed it. The whole scene was very nicely handled and trimmed down to the essentials. Little Hugo was absolutely adorable!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2) was a great adaptation and a wonderfully entertaining movie for fans and casual followers.

Oh, yeah, and the 3D was the best 3D I have ever seen in a live action film. It wasn't at all distracting. If you feel like paying the extra money for Harry Potter-shaped Real 3D glasses, go for it!

@Nimbuschick: "I enjoyed seeing all of our favorite canon characters back, like Nigel & random black kid from divination."