Okay, so as a HUGE Harry Potter fan, this post is probably a tad biased (and VERY long), but it has to be said that I found this film hugely enjoyable, and a great send off to the wizarding world we've come to love. I suppose you could call me a bit of a Harry Potter geek. I'm one of those people who read the books like a Christian would read the bible. I've always found JK Rowling's books to be enticing, and very addictive! SO it's a good feeling to see that they have been portrayed beautifully in the films.
I was one of the lucky people to see it at a double-bill midnight screening, where part's 1&2 were shown back to back for the midnight release. And it was definitely one of the best cinematic experiences I've ever been through - including the girl wearing a Dobby head! I wasn't particularly fond of only being able to see it in 3D, but it was done incredibly well, despite my reluctance to wear those uncomfortable glasses!
In Part 1, we see Harry, Ron and Hermione find another horcrux, then kill it. We are then told about the Deathly Hallows; the Elder Wand, the Cloak of Invisibility and the Resurrection Stone, the 3 items that, when together, create the ultimate Master of Death. Cheery. So naturally, Voldemort finds the Elder Wand, shortly followed by the ending credits. Which leads nicely into Part 2.
I don't think I've ever cried so much over a film before! After Dobby's death in Part 1 (which got a fair few tears itself), we follow the famous trio on their journey to destroy the remaining 3 horcruxes, so that they can then kill Voldemort. All seems well after they find some kind of horcrux-cup in Bellatrix Lestrange's bank vault. But obviously, things are never as easy as they seem for Harry, and he gets double-crossed by Griphook, the goblin, and result to escaping Gringott's on the back of a dragon. As you do.
One horcrux found... With no way of destroying it, of course, as good ol' Griphook took the sword from them. Right on cue, Harry finds out that another of Voldemort's horcruxes is hidden at Hogwarts. So they apparate into Hogsmeade - BIG mistake with a load of Death Eater's roaming around, until a mysterious stranger pulls them into his house. It's then revealed that he's not so mysterious after all; he is Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, who has been keeping an eye on the trio through a magic mirror. After a bit of conflict, who appears from a painting but Neville Longbottom himself!
He takes them through the painting, into a tunnel that leads to Hogwarts' Room of Requirement, where the whole of Dumbledore's Army (see Order of the Phoenix) are gathered. After a quick comeback from McGonnagall, and some conflict with Snape, Voldy declares war on Hogwarts. Cue an emotional scene with all remaining teachers, students, and Order of the Phoenix members joining together to create protective enchantments over the school.
After this emotional scene, Hermione and Ron go down to the Chamber of Secrets to get a Basilisk fang to destroy the remaining horcruxes. Once Hermione destroys the cup, we're treated to the most anticipated kiss in the whole series which, in my opinion, did not disappoint. It took 10 years, but they sure got there in the end!
After a chat with a ghost, Harry realises that the horcrux he's looking for is Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem (a crown, as muggles know it as), so he heads to the Room of Requirement to find it, followed by Malfoy, Goyle and Blaise. After a few dodgy spells, Goyle manages to set the place on fire, wreaking havoc on the whole "finding the horcrux" scenario. But it's found eventually, and they even have time to go back and save Malfoy and Blaise. *Cough* sadly for Goyle, he didn't make it out of the room. Some fumbling outside, and Harry destroys the diadem with the basilisk fang, and discovers that the final horcrux is Nagini, Voldy's snake.
Moving swiftly on, they find Voldemort murdering Snape (wrongly, as we find out later), in order to gain full power of the Elder Wand. It's then that we see a completely different side of Snape, as he looks into Harry's eyes and tells him that he "has [his] mother's eyes", after he tells him to gather up his memories. Still playing on the emotional side, we then visit the Great Hall, where dozens of dead bodies are laying, surrounded by friends and family. It's here that we feel a pang of dread, as the camera moves from the dead bodies of Nymphodora Tonks, Remus Lupin, and worst of all, Fred Weasley (by this point, I could hardly see through my 3D glasses, as they were filled with tears).
So Harry leaves Ron and Hermione to mourn, as he finds the Pensieve. It's here that the audience (or the non-readers) discover that all along, Snape was looking after Harry, as he was madly in love with Lily Potter. Yes, Severus Snape, who was one of the most hated characters for 10 years, was the good guy all along! It's then that we find out that Harry is part-horcrux (watch it to find out!), and has to be killed in order for Voldemort to die.
So Harry bravely makes his way to the Forbidden Forest, willingly ready to die, where his Snitch opens up to reveal the Resurrection Stone. And sure enough, in a few seconds, he's greeted by Lily, James, Lupin and Sirius. After an emotional minute, he drops the stone and continues to seek Voldemort. And sure enough, there he is with wand in hand, ready to Avada Kedavra the hell out of Harry. Which he does, resulting in a strange meeting between Harry and Dumbledore, where a lot of questions are answered.
Once back in the forest, we find out that the blast not only knocked out Harry, but Voldemort too! But this time, Harry pretends to be dead, supported by Narcissa Malfoy, whose only care is that Draco is alive. Bless her Death Eater motherly instincts...So Voldy makes Hagrid carry him back to Hogwarts to announce his "death", where we're given an emotional, brave speech by Neville, where Harry decides to jump down, letting everyone know he's alive, including Voldemort, who's on him like a shot!
So after a long battle scene, Harry and Voldy go for a little fly, leaving Ron and Hermione to kill Nagini. After failing this task, it turns out the person who succeeds in killing her, is in fact, Neville. After 10 years of failing, he's finally proved to everyone that he IS a someone.
So with no horcruxes holding him back, Harry and Voldemort battle it out, wizard style, the epic scene that's taken 10 years to build up to. And after the Elder Wand fails for Voldy, Harry blasts him to smithereens, ending the battle he's been fighting his whole life.
So all in all, a FANTASTIC film! I was crying from the word GO!
The emotional qualities of this film had the tears pouring down my cheeks, but the best part for me was finding out the truth about Snape. Even though I knew exactly what was coming, it still had me crying more than I think I have for any other film. For the first time in 10 years, we saw emotion in his eyes. This scene was portrayed beautifully by Alan Rickman, who quite frankly, deserves an Oscar for his performance. "After all this time?" "Always". Just beautiful!
For any Potterhead whose read the books, the most anticipated line was spoken by Molly Weasley. And it didn't disappoint! "Not my daughter, you bitch!" is one of the most memorable lines in the books, and was said exactly how I imagined, by Julie Walters.
There was only one part of the film that I wasn't too impressed with, which was the epilogue. It was apparent that they hadn't aged much at all, so much more needed to be done visually. Other than that, and a few messy bits (Harry mentioning Lupin's son in the Resurrection Stone scene - it hadn't been mentioned in Part 1 or 2 that Lupin and Tonks had a child at all!), I thought that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was the perfect ending to the series. There wasn't a dry eye in the cinema, especially when the epilogue used the same music as the first film: The original theme tune.
For me - and millions of others - Harry Potter played a huge part of my childhood, allowing me to escape reality - escape the Muggle world- and enter the world of wizardry, so wonderfully created by JK Rowling. And though it's heartbreaking to think that there'll never be "the new Harry Potter film" to look forward to, I'll always think of the words spoken by JK Rowling herself. "Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."
