It’s hard to imagine that there won’t be another book or film about The Boy Who Lived.
**SPOILERS**
Saying good-bye to Harry Potter is a bittersweet experience. I’m happy to see the entire story, but sad the story is all over. Gone is the excitement of pre-ordering the next book and waiting with baited breath until it arrives, then staying up till 3am to finish it so nobody would ruin it by telling me what happens before I had the chance to read it for myself. Now the last movie has broken box office weekend opening records and fans the world over sit and watch the final stretch of Harry’s fantastic journey.
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART II starts off right where PART I ended – Voldemort breaks into Dumbledore’s grave and steals the Elder Wand. From there the movie quickly speeds to the dramatic ending of Harry destroying He Who Must Not Be Named. The director, David Yates, again does a decent job of crafting a well-put together film. However, the addition of 3D does very little to propel the story forward. It almost distracts the viewer so much that dialogue and key movements are missed.
There are some significant changes in the adaptation – mainly with Snape’s death (the fabulous Alan Rickman at his finest!! Netflix TRULY MADLY DEEPLY for more of him) taking place in a boathouse instead of the Shrieking Shack, but over all the script makes the right sacrifices of the book to do the story justice and satisfy the fans. But it’s the ending that leaves me a little empty. Through the magic of CGI Harry, Hermione, and Ron age 19 years – just like in the book – but when the book is rich in humor (mainly because of Ron) the movie falls flat.
Endings are hard. I know. But much like THE RETURN OF THE KING, where in the book Gollem gets redeemed and in the movie he doesn’t, the same thing happens in Harry Potter. In the book there are humorous exchanges regarding people staring at Harry, assimilating into Muggle society, and how you can’t give a teacher at school love from your parents. The ending is heart tugging, endearing, and unforgettable. The film accurately shows the kids aging, but doesn’t portray the humor, or feeling of utter contentment and happiness Harry experiences since his scar remains painless. But endings are hard, especially when you don’t want the story to end.