As a kid who's grown up reading and watching the Harry Potter series, I could easily be called an enthusiast. I've said on more than one occasion that J.K. Rowling is responsible for my love of reading. In fact, I have memories of secretly reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban under my desk in the sixth grade. I was absolutely enthralled by the series. I attended midnight book releases, movie premieres and often times stayed up late reading the books for the third or fourth time.
When the second part of the last movie was recently released on DVD it was bittersweet. I've been secretly opinionated about the movies but I must say David Yates is an excellent director. I love what he's done with the last four movies, capturing the true enchantment of the series. As the characters have grown older the series itself has also grown darker. Voldemort's return in The Goblet of Fire was a catalyst for the change.
In the latest movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part Two) the change is clearly evident. It reflects the tone of the book perfectly, even if the movie doesn't completely parallel the book in other ways. Though the movie does start off a little slow, it picks up after the first 20 minutes. Overall it is one of the best in the series. Here are a few of my favorite scenes:
* Harry's Return to Hogwarts: The trio apparates to Hogsmeade and a sort of alarm system sounds. Suddenly the town is filled with Death Eaters looking for Harry. Alberforth pulls the trio into his tavern and asks his sister to summon Neville. Walking along a new secret passage they enter the castle from the Room of Requirement. This has been set up as a camp for most of Dumbledore's Army. As Hogwart's new headmaster, Snape discovers Harry has returned and pulls all students from bed into the Great Hall. This is when two great scenes take place.
Harry emerges from the crowd of students confronting Snape about Dumbledore's death. When Snape draws his wand on Harry, McGonagall steps forward to protect him. She fires multiple spells at Snape forcing him apparate from the castle. After McGonagall relights the torches in the Hall a girl starts screaming. As Harry approaches her, another student starts screaming. Holding very true to the book, Voldemort's voice suddenly fills the air. He demands they hand over Harry or a war will be fought. The scene is pretty scary to say the least.
* Protecting the Castle: After Voldemort threatens Hogwarts, the teachers and members of the Order of Phoenix show us what magic can really do. We see Professor Flitwick, Mrs. Weasley, and Professor Slughorn casting a series of protective spells that place a forcefield around the castle. (I guess even Hogwart's needs some home security when it comes to Voldemort). Personally, I think one of the best spells come from McGonagall. She enchants the castle's knights to march to the front of the grounds and protect Hogwarts. Watching them do this is a pretty powerful visual of what's happening in the story.
* Room of Requirement: Harry heads to the Room of Requirement after Helena Ravenclaw tells him this is where he could find her mother's diadem. Seeking to destroy it, he is then confronted by Malfoy, Goyle and Blaise. Goyle casts a spell at Hermoine which enfuriates Ron. He chases after Goyle who in turn casts an evil cursed fire at Ron. Overcome by its power the entire room catches on fire. Hogwart's certainly does not have a fire or security system so, unlike the real-world, water sprinklers could not stop it. In fact, the cursed fire is so wild that nothing can stop it. I think the set director did a really great job recreating this scene. The Room of Requirement is exactly as it is described in the book: a maze of lost objects piled from the floor to the ceiling. As the characters exit the room and the diadem is destroyed you can see the fire take shape of Voldemort's head. This is a terrific visual effect.
* Snape's Death: Snape is one of my most beloved characters in the Harry Potter series.The scene when Voldemort kills him truly shows Voldemort for what he is. He believed Snape was one of his most faithful followers and yet he thought nothing of killing him to gain power. It was a tragic ending for a well-written character.
Although Yates slightly altered this scene from the book, I liked what he did. He made it one of the most powerful scenes in the movie as Snape's true character is revealed. After Harry captures his tears and puts them in the Pensive everything in the story begins to make sense (at least for those who did not read the book). The collage of flashbacks is very well done as the audience sees Snape's genuine love for Lily. The scene becomes even more dramatic when Harry finds out he is the last horcrux.
Although there were some parts of the movie I did not care for, they were small. Overall I thought the movie was excellent and ended the series appropriately. I also thought the soundtrack played an important role in this movie. It did a great job of setting a dramatic tone and Alexandre Desplat proved himself very talented.
The movie ends just as the book, 19 years into the future. Harry has married Ginny and they are seeing their children Albus and James off on the Hogwart's Express. Harry is an Auror for the Ministry of Magic and Voldemort has been defeated. The Potters no longer have to worry about home alarm systems knowing all is right in the wizarding world.
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