Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

After watching The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I could without hesitation read the book version. After watching the Harry Potter film series, I wouldn't even think about trying to read the book. It's not really important whether the eighth and final film of the series is better than the previous or sixth one; in my case, I have long been tired of this film series and I only endured it for the sake of my children. The final installment is actually the only one I saw in the movie theater, all the others on a television screen. The previous films usually received three stars from me for their production and special effects, but in the final installment, the whole series concentrates on the misery that suffers from being drawn out, genre stereotypes, immaturity, and routine. Many problems come from Rowling's work itself, such as the poor handling of characters and emotions, which should bring conflict and the end of some (anti)heroes. As a viewer, I want to be there when the villain gets what he deserves and I want to enjoy his end, but here the characters disappear somehow casually and many crucial things for the story are just thrown in. If there are any catchphrases, they don't work, the dialogues are pathetic and sometimes turn into stiff phrases, the whole thing is emphasized by the sometimes arrogantly pathetic music, and this film couldn't captivate me in any way. I had to take a break during it to go to the toilet and I didn't care at all what was happening in the movie theater. Even the action, which is not lacking in the final installment, is filmed impersonally. If I compare it, for example, with the Battle of Helm's Deep in The Two Towers, where there was a bloody merciless fight that resembled the great battles of ancient and medieval times, and, in essence, it was nothing less than whether genocide would take place or not. Here, everything is artificial and very digital in every respect. Either you see a crowd of anonymous characters, or a black blur of struggling wizards flashes by. Those who are not familiar with the books will sometimes have quite a problem understanding the logic of what they see (in fact, the book has a number of logical inconsistencies). The film's current 167th place in the rankings of the best films and a very decent rating are simply the result of Pottermania and what this series means in contemporary pop culture, rather than the result of film artistry. Two stars may be harsh, because a huge budget, of course, provides a tempting spectacle in the form of grand production and a barrage of special effects, but if I compare it, for example, to Stardust, that film emotionally propelled me to the stars, while this one kept me sunken in my seat and I barely managed to stay awake. If this is supposed to be one of the most significant blockbusters of this summer, then this year has certainly not been very good. Overall impression: 45%. (07/16/2011)

It started beautifully and magically, it ended dramatically and spectacularly... I am satisfied beyond measure with the ending. Compared to the first part, I have nothing to ponder here and I'm giving it full stars right out of the box. I really had the feeling that something important was ending and I must admit that I even shed a tear. In my mind the creators left no stone unturned... the perfect reveal of the truth about Snape, the final fight between Harry and Voldemort, and the final memory of how it all started... once again, 100%. (08/10/2011)

About until half way through (somewhere after conjuring up the barrier) I have no objections. However, thereafter, instead of gradually climaxing the eighteen hours spanning ten years, it chops it up into a series of a few dozen moments. Each of them is great, often atmospheric too, and frequently gripping and ingenious, but put all together they don’t give the impression of a unified story heading toward one goal. It chops it up more and more until it turns into something that, despite being impressive and entertaining, is an epically cold popcorn picture. The only emotions are provoked only by (again the genius of) Desplat. And that is a bit too little. (07/17/2011)

Oh My Granger! What turns the book Relics into a magical finale amplifies the film adaptation to its highest bearable level, turns Neville into a well-deserved stud, gives the best scene of the saga to the Prince's story, and makes David Yates one of the best directors I know. At the moment when this wizarding world closes to all viewers, there remains a hardly controllable desire to see and read it all again. Simply put, it is a heavily euphoric experience after the end of the film, a clear one hundred percent spectacle and probably the best movie installment of the entire Hogwarts series. Some experiences are immortal even at the time they take place. Thank you for letting me be a part of it. (07/21/2011)

Harry Potter is a monotonous and long-winded franchise that reached its premature peak in the third part, Cuaron’s The Prisoner Of Azkaban, which isn’t at all surprising. The first four books can be considered standalone stories, each with its own specific plot arc (the search for the philosophers’ stone, the legend of the chamber of secrets, the danger of a fugitive prisoner, the tournament of schools of wizardry), while the remaining three are a overly long storytelling mess about the “final confrontation of good versus evil”. Add to this the fact that the third part was the only one in charge of a director whose ambitions could be said were higher than only bringing to the screen an unoriginal adaptation of a book, and the shortcomings of the entire saga are clear. Evidently, this will be enough for some of the hardcore fans, nothing against that, but it’s funny to observe how some of them give priority to (and also reject) a different episode. This could be taken as proof of the diversity of the episodes, but to me it’s actually proof of the inconsistency of the saga as a whole – basically, it only depends on which film each fan prefers. But now briefly about Deathly Hallows: Part 2 itself (because it doesn’t warrant a long comment). I can take bland performances in summer blockbusters, I can take a concise and episodic script, but that the mood among the people of Hoghwarts after the longed for defeat of the Lord of Evil (which everyone had been waiting for X years) would be as if their team had ended third out of four in a big tournament, and that major characters would die out of frame as if by the way, without a hint of emotion... THAT’S QUITE SOMETHING! Yeah, and the epilogue is just as stupid as Rowling wrote it, so the film doesn’t deserve any bitching for that :-D (07/20/2011)