Anyone who knows me knows I'm a huge Harry Potter freak fan. I read a really interesting article that I believe puts a lot of insight into why people, especially those of us in our twenties, are so in love with this story. It points out how we grew up with Harry and matured along with him and his story. When I read the first book at the age of 12 only the lighter, more fun books (one through three) had been published. By the time this epic battle between Harry and Voldemort occurred where they were fighting for the fate of all wizard kind, I was in college fighting to define what course my own life would take. Luckily there was less on the line in my case. I suppose that's enough of my defensive rant about why I love HP enough....on to the film!

I was fortunate enough to get into an advanced press screening the Monday night before the film had actually premiered. I'd already bought my midnight passes to see the film at the drafthouse and was planning on going with some of my great friends so I decided it was necessary to see the film twice! Seeing HP is always worth the cash when you go to the drafthouse anyway. They provide a great atmosphere and show all of the cultish Harry Potter fan made videos. We watched the HP puppets, the Harry/Voldemort rap and even Dan Rad's appearance on Extras.The film was shown in digital 3D which made a huge difference in quality verses at the press screening. The scene where they are
winding along the rails in Gringotts was much more intense and made me feel like I was on a roller coaster. However, at the press screening they gave us these amazing Harry Potter shaped 3D glasses... so it all evened out in the end.

The movie itself was really a great film. I was concerned because I knew as part one concluded, all that was left in the story was basically one huge fight scene. David Yates did a great job keeping the plot moving by slowing down after a huge fight scene for reflection time. He also added some really nice comedic relief that helped lighten the mood. I think that that was especially important for people who hadn't read the books and didn't know what to expect. It's an intense conclusion with important plot points happening left and right so slowing it down and adding some funny really helped.

After seeing the Sorcerer's Stone I didn't know if I'd ever be able to say this, but the acting was absolutely exquisite in this last installment. Our three heroes have definitely had some acting lessons over the past decade and I think they finally paid off. I actually cried a little bit during a scene of good byes before Harry goes off into the forest to search for Voldemort. One of my favorite scenes with Dan Rad was at the end where he acknowledges that a certain wand does belong to him. It was really funny and placed really well. This wand is the same wand that I own and it made me want to leave the theater, go straight to my living room where it's on display, and in what would be a purely poetic symbol of my respect for all things Harry Potter, rip it in half too. And just to clarify, I didn't actually buy this wand myself, my dear friend Melissa bought it for me for Christmas a year and a half ago. I'm not that crazy. She sure is a great gift giver.


However, I think Alan Rickman ran away with the best acting award from this film. The first scene we see him in, as he's standing alone in the tower, he's looking out at what Hogwarts has become and the weight of his duties is clearly evident on his face. That paired with a truly amazing and haunting score made this one of my favorite scenes in the film. I have to say the little montage we had of him from the pensieve had some really great scenes and also some that were a bit over the top. I don't think that was his fault, that had a lot to do with direction and camera angles. Dame Maggie Smith also got much more screen time this go around and she, as expected, was truly amazing. Yates gave her some comedic relief lines in times of great dramatic climax that made you fall in love with her character all over again. I also have to mention how really, all of the British adult actors are consistently great in these films. Especially Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter. They were truly, and expectantly, amazing.

What follows contains spoilers, so I recommend not reading if you haven't seen the film yet.

There were only a few things that bothered me in this film, and they were definitely things that weren't included in J.K.'s book. The main one however was the demise of Voldemort. I think Yates amped it up for dramatic effect in the movie, but I loved how in the novel this last battle takes place between Harry and Voldemort as they circle each other in the Great Hall with everyone watching. I missed the fact that this didn't happen on the big screen. I feel like that would have been more dramatic and would have provided cinematic gold because there would have been ample opportunity for the audience to see the reactions from the characters we love so much as this all goes down. When Harry finally does finish him off, it's not clear that the spell he uses to defeat Voldemort is his signature spell to disarm (Expelliarmus) and not an actual death spell. Voldemort himself causes his own demise when his spell rebounds since the elder wand refuses to kill its own master. (That wasn't explained well in the movie at all!) Also Yates had him disintegrate or something after he died. It
looked very similar to the way in which Quirrel died a decade ago. That's great and all but Yates just got too fancy with it. As the pieces of Voldemort's body floated up into the air, they turned from black to white symbolizing the change from evil back to innocence and purity. While that's all mushy mushy and great, I loved how after all the crap Harry went through to kill this guy who had done everything he could to live forever as more than a mere mortal, in the book Voldemort's body simply laid on the floor motionless as any other man would after his death. I think the simplicity in that is more beautiful than what Yates did.

I also got annoyed after Harry had "died" and was up in King's Cross Station and they showed this close up of him laying on the ground where he's supposed to look all crisp and clean and he had this stray whiskers on the bottom of his chin. I noticed it both times I watched the film and man it annoyed the crap out of me. Seriously? Did no one see that?  How could they not have seen that when they were prepping him for the scene?? Not a huge deal, but still...

And then there was the epilogue. I wasn't sure how this could not be corny, and it was still a tad over the top, but over all well done. Bonnie Wright looked like crap though. I just think that she always looks like she's still 12. It's like they put her in some lame wig and panty hose and called it a day. In real life if you see her at a premiere or something, she looks totally different. Another thing that annoyed me from the epilogue was that Harry's "son" Albus Severus had a ferret in his cage to take to school. A ferret?? No one ever has ferrets at Hogwarts. Cats, owls, rats, and toads are the only animals allowed. What good does a ferret do? I realize it's 19 years later but I'm still not buying it. Another thing I'm not buying is that the Bieber 'do will still be around in 19 years. Seriously...If it is, well then...I will just snap! Albus Severus totally had the Bieber 'do that even Bieber doesn't have any more. Can we please please please let this style go? And never come back? Even in 19 years? Gross. That little kid was so cute though. As I was watching the scene play out I thought to myself that he will probably be in many more things over the years but in my heart I'll always remember him as the kid from Harry Potter.

It really was a great end to the series though. It was very bitter sweet to see the final installment but I'm very happy with what they did. While there were a few things that were annoyingly different, I have to say that I really appreciate the fact that Warner Brothers and David Yates respected J.K.'s vision for the series as well as capturing the very essence of what Harry Potter is for the fans.