Opening with dark foreboding – Harry’s arch-nemesis Lord Voldemort in a triumphant moment followed by shots of a dementor surrounded Hogwarts – director David Yates sets a bleak scene in which our protagonists hurtle headlong towards the conclusion of the Harry Potter franchise in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 (hereafter: DH2). With near unrelenting grimness the filmmakers and the narrative drive our central trio, and we the audience along with them, into the ultimate showdown which will decide the fate of both the wizarding and wider world. Have our heroes done enough to defeat ‘he who must not be named’?
In DH1 Harry, Hermione, and Ron have done the hard yards of hunting down horcruxes with a modest degree of success. In DH2 Voldemort is onto them; they are forced to give up the ruse and race against the clock to prepare themselves for the final confrontation they rightfully feel unready for and which is to take place, appropriately, in the Hogwarts school grounds. Returning to their beloved but altered Hogwarts sees our central trio reunite with their much missed school and Order of the Phoenix friends as they scramble to complete the dismantling of the dark lord’s ‘invisible armour’.
David Yates, who has guided our cinematic Potter journey since part five (Order of the Phoenix), shows himself again to be a very capable set of hands to carry this lofty pop-cultural burden. Much praise should also be heaped onto the chief Potter screenwriter/story adapter Steve Kloves who has helped shape the movie franchise right from the start and who has adapted all the books into movies bar Order of the Phoenix. The various narrative elements are carried over nicely from the book series with smart and logical compression of these where necessary to fit the story into a cinematic timeline.
Having the final Potter book split into two films has turned out to be somewhat of a mixed blessing. On the one hand, for Potter geeks like myself it is excellent to get the chance to see Deathly Hallows realised more completely for the screen then it otherwise would have been; more characters, story lines and details escape the script/edit room floor! On the other hand, these two parts – DH1 & DH2 really do want to be seen back to back. Viewed stand alone, at some distance from part one, this second part feels a bit like a movie long climax; or rather, a series of unrelenting climactic moments. And in the context of its place at the end of an epic seven year long story, this is unsurprising. However it does leave the film a bit lacking in terms of emotional and dramatic texture with all the frustrated tension built in the first instalment left far behind.
That said, DH2 definitely delivers on the action, entertainment, and excellent visuals front being several steps above your average fantasy adventure feature. Eduardo Serra (Blood Diamond), who has taken on Director of Photography duties for these final two films, frames fantastically and creates as excellent looking picture as you’d hope to expect. Our cast – now veritably overflowing with the cream of British cinema – give suitably skilled performances even if on screen for only two lines of dialogue. Our central trio maintain the level of proficiency they have risen to across the last five films but deliver with a palpably urgency befitting the project, which I might attribute to this being their last foray into the Potter world which has essentially birthed and nurtured them as actors.
For any more than mildly interested viewer DH1 & DH2 really do deserve the service of being viewed close together thereby allowing the two pieces the best sense of structural, dramatic and emotional balance. And let’s face it, almost everyone considering purchasing this DVD will already have a copy, or at least will have seen, i>DH1 if not the entire Potter series. You, like me, will find bits and pieces that aren’t quite how you imagine they should be – case in point, one aspect of the final confrontation doesn’t sit well with my sense of how the books portray it – but you have to hand it to Yates and his team: they have wrapped up the series in fine form and with much love for the source material, and you can’t ask for more than that. This is truly a great collector’s set worth having on your shelves to revisit when the mood takes you.
Disc Info + Special Features It almost goes without saying that the video and audio transfers of DH2 are top notch as we’ve come to expect from the previous Potter film releases. This four disc combo pack covers all the viewing bases with Blu-ray, DVD, and even computer file for those who prefer, though the pack is (unfortunately for me) geared towards Blu-ray with ALL the special features (listed below) on a 2nd Blu disc and none on DVD. Bearing the above in mind, there is the usual slew of extras to keep fanboys and girls happy even as they bemoan the cinematic ending of their Potter experience. now all that awaits is the release of the ultimate Potter DVD & Blu-ray box sets!
4 Disc Combo Pack (DVD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy) Region 4 PAL 2.40:1 Aspect Ratio (16:9) DTS HD Master / Dolby Digital – 5.1 / 2.0 Languages: English, English with descriptive narrative, Russian or Ukranian. Optional subtitles: English for the hearing impaired, Estonian, Latvian, or Russian.
A conversation with J.K. Rowling and Daniel Radcliffe When harry Left Hogwarts The Goblins of Gringotts The Women of Harry Potter Additional scenes Warner Bros. Studio tour London Maximum movie mode: Blowing Up Hogwarts Digital copy of feature available for download
FILMGUIDE rating: Reviewed by: Jacob Powell Rating: M – contains supernatural themes and violence. Duration: 130 mins Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Adaptation, Action Director: David Yates (2011) Actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Bonnie Wright, Ralph Fiennes, Evanna Lynch and co. Country: UK/USA
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