Viewed in
2011 (2)
Formats
IMAX 3D, Movie Theater (3D)
Premise
In the conclusion of the concluding chapter, Harry and friends try to find the last Horcruxes while Voldemort's army lays siege to Hogwarts.
Loved
Pretty much everything.
Thoughts
Amidst massive hype and expectations, I never expected it to be this good.
Not sure why, but there's actually very little I feel compelled to write about. Probably because with such a massively shared experience, it would be hard to come up with an angle no one had thought about. Or perhaps I'm afraid my inferior words would not substantiate what a miracle it was to have a decade of excellent modern literature and a decade of accompanying quality modern cinema.
The execution was exquisite. Pretty much every epic, cathartic, surprising, somber, triumphant, and romantic moment delivered with great emotional impact. I swore the audience and I were crying and sniffling for the last hour non-stop. It managed to hold all that emotional sway while still following the rules for wands and J.K. Rowling's universe.
These days, it's easier to spot bad special effects than quality special effects, and much like all the other aspects of the film, it was flawless (by 2011 standards). Of all of them, my favorite was easily Bellatrix's booby-trapped vault. It blew me away.
Watching it in a legitimate IMAX theater, the image was bright and the 3D conversion was hardly noticeable. While it added some depth and enhanced the flying/fight scenes (especially when they set up a magical barrier around the entire school), it was not essential to shell out the extra dough to enjoy the visuals. By the way, if you end up deciding on going 3D, you might as well go all the way with IMAX. It's much more brighter and clearer than regular 3D.
There were some trivial stuff that I could nitpick about, but not really worth it. See Spoilers Section.
All I can say is that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 had great acting, directing, and writing, and did the book and the Potter universe more than justice. It honestly could not have been any better. Time will tell if this will usurp Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as my favorite, but there's no denying this was the best executed entry in the outstanding franchise.
What I would change
See Spoilers Section.
Spoilers Section
Here are my nitpicks:
I wished Voldemort's death was more explosive. Bellatrix and Nagini had great deaths that prompted cheers from the audience, yet, everyone was rather silent when the Dark Lord withered away.
Bonnie Wright's makeup in the epilogue looked comically clunky. But I'd rather have that than trying to attach myself to new adult actors in such a cathartic scene.
I wouldn't have bothered with Lupin and Tonk's child subplot as a throwaway line. Fans of the books know you can't fit everything in, and a halfway attempt is sometimes worse than eliminating details.
This might be more of a problem with the 6th or 7th film, but I got confused if there were six or seven Horcruxes that Harry had to hunt down.
