Menu Magazine

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part2

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman
Director: David Yates
Running time: 130 minutes

Harry Potter is difficult to write about for a number of reasons. Number one; because of the pseudo-religious fervour of Harry Potter fans and the inversely proportionate fury they reserve for his detractors. It makes me afraid for safety because... Number two; I am now one of those detractors. If I was a lazier and more brazen little columnist I’d have written this review in one, onomatopoeic word: Meh.

Let me clarify something; I have read the books (literally countless times) and I loved, nay, adored them. So as this wheezing lame-dog of a film franchise finally crashed to the ground, having sapped not only my passion for Harry and my will to write, I was sad. It could have been so much better. I can remember my outrage after the first film over the film’s numerous plot and character omissions but each subsequent film, with their chopping and changing directorial styles, made it less and less possible to care. Which brings me back to this last boring grasp for glory.

Was it dull because I knew the books like the back of my hand? Better even? No. It was boring because they got lazy and failed to explore certain relationship and story dynamics. Admittedly it’s difficult to do so when your lead character can’t act his way out of a paper bag, much less Gringott’s vault. More on that later.

The film jumps straight in where the last film finished. No recap. You will notice I haven’t bothered to give you a synopsis here, either. The story is too involved to sum up beyond (spoiler alert?); Harry and Voldemort resolve their tiff, and some other stuff happens.

Anyway, after a stilted beginning with some awkward scenes in Bill and Fleur’s cottage, during which we are painfully reminded of Radcliffe’s (Harry Potter) dearth of talent, the story builds some momentum toward the middle. However the spell is broken whenever it falls to Harry to carry a scene and it all kind of drags toward the end.

Of the leading trio, Hermione (Emma Watson) has blossomed into a beautiful creature with emerging talent and thus is really quite lovely to watch. Ron (Rupert Grint) is certainly the Most Improved Player and has developed some decent acting chops. I have nothing constructive to say about Radcliffe’s Potter impersonation so let’s talk about the break out star of this film; Professor Snape. Gloriously portrayed by Alan Rickman his delicious eloquence and exquisite scorn is transfigured into a fabulous performance that provides the heart of the film. I loved him! The other notable, if minor, performance came from Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis). In the films Malfoy and Longbottom are on fairly equal supporting-character footing but Longbottom’s poignant speech elevates him above the ultimately forgettable Malfoy.

It wasn’t terrible. The effects were lovely and if you’re emotionally invested in the film franchise I won’t try to dissuade you from seeing it. It was still better than the previous films and for what was an incredibly dark book they inject enough humour through a smattering of one-liners to keep it light enough for (mature) children. It doesn’t stand alone as a film though, even when combined with the first half. Yawn.

Xxx Maddy Maine

2/5 stars