Daniel Radcliffe in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part2"
photo courtesy of Warner Brothers Pictures

Movie Review                  Jackie K Cooper
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” (Warner Brothers)

All Good Things Must Come To An End

To the chagrin of millions of fans, the Harry Potter movie series ends with “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2.” Still to everyone’s relief the film ties up all the loose ends both character wise and plot wise. There is a lot of action on the screen and the boy hero goes out the way he came in with fans cheering his every move.

The main battle of the stories has always been the one between Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). In this final movie they clash one more time. Along to help Harry out are his true buddies Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint).

It is unnecessary to try to sort out the plot of this movie. “Potter” devotees will know everything in advance, and those not familiar with the books will wander along with no sense as to what is going on on screen. There is no effort made to squander precious time on what has gone before; the audience at this movie is presumed to know all of the history of Harry before they enter the theater.

That means that someone like me who has not read the books or studied the movies needs to take along a guide. I took my eleven year old granddaughter with me and she knew everything that was happening. I would ask her who just died and she would have the answer in a flash. I would also ask about the various magical elements and she knew them all.

Radcliffe, Watson and Grint have become fairly accomplished actors but it is still the veterans such as Fiennes, Alan Rickman and Maggie Smith who steal the show. They gobble up the scenery and make their presence known. Helena Bonham Carter would chew away if she could but her number of scenes is very limited.

The movie is rated PG-13 for violence and mild profanity.

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” gives the entire series a good send-off. It isn’t the best “Harry Potter” film ever made but it is certainly one of the best. Those who have been dreading having this day arrive will find their favorite characters have gotten a warm final scene to play which will linger in the minds of Potter fans.

I scored “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” a final 7 out of 10.

            JKC