Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2

Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson), and Ron (Rupert Grint) use goblin Griphook (Warwick Davis, who also plays Prof. Flitwick) and a little magic to break into Bellatrix Lestrange’s (Helena Bonham-Carter) vault to destroy one of the remaining Horcruxes, which contain the soul of Lord Voldermort (Ralph Fiennes). Apparently there is another one on the premises of Hogwarts, where the sinister Prof. Snape (Alan Rickman) has taken over after the death of Dumbledore (Michael Gambon). Harry gathers together the students of Hogwarts (and a few other allies) for a final battle with Voldermort and his horde, soon to descend upon Hogwarts.

 

I know millions worship everything Harry Potter-related, but as someone who has never read the books, the series of films have been somewhat hit or miss for me. Too many characters, too little room for depth, and a seriously underwhelming (and underused) villain have stopped me from getting into the series, though I might’ve enjoyed it as an 11 year-old. This finale from director David Yates (“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”) and writer Steven Kloves isn’t as impressive as the first two (and best) entries in the series, but is much better than its predecessor (it has an ending, for starters), and certainly miles ahead of the non-event “Goblet of Fire” (seriously, that film is entirely irrelevant, looking back, and felt awfully bloody meaningless at the time).

 

I enjoyed this film overall, but I still have some pretty big problems with it. They are mostly the same problems as previously, only slightly less annoying and problematic this time, perhaps. The abundance of characters and lack of depth in those characters is probably the most glaring issue here, given that this is the final film and one can reflect on how many characters we’ve been introduced to and how far they have come...which in most cases, isn’t anywhere near far enough. What pisses me off most is that new characters are still being introduced here (including a well-cast Ciaran Hinds), and yet we still don’t have three dimensions to any of the series regulars, let alone the rogue’s gallery of guest stars. Despite overall enjoying the film, this sour point nearly had me pulling out what little hair I have left. Talented dwarf actor Warwick Davis (I think I’m likely the only one on the planet who  enjoyed “Life’s Too Short”) gets to play a new character here, and does so terrifically, but given his Prof. Flitwick is already barely half a dimension deep, it serves to make me angry that more attention wasn’t paid to Flitwick throughout the series. Hagrid appears in this film, and yet he feels about as familiar as John Hurt, who appears here for the first time since his cameo in the first film. There’s also too much Julie Fucking Walters here and not enough Helena Bonham Carter. Meanwhile, given it’s just a walk-on, I really hope a stand-in was used instead of Emma Thompson. Jim Broadbent and Dame Maggie Smith might as well not have turned up, either (Mind you, at least Smith gets dialogue here in what seems like the first time in about three films). Why cast such fine actors if you aren’t going to use them much? Cho Chang (Katie Leung) comes back for a millisecond here- remember her? She almost used to be a character that one time. Who is Ginny? Why should I care? She’s Cho Chang, but less Asian and genetically related to Ron. Neither is a real character, they’re just the girl Harry gets to kiss in one of the films.

 

Once you realise this, it’s only a matter of time before you start to notice the same damn thing about supposedly central characters Ron and Hermione. I know the name “Harry Potter” appears in the title of all of these films, but the staggering lack of importance, depth, purpose, and growth in his two best friends is astounding. When Harry goes off on his own (yet again!) in the film, I finally realised that Hermione and Ron are so useless as fuck that the series could’ve done without them, except that a nerd with no friends who dresses in a black cloak would give off creepy vibes. Hermione and Ron, aside from their far-too brief moments of kinda-sorta romance, are entirely subservient characters who merely react to stuff that happens to Harry. Like “The Chronicles of Narnia”, it probably isn’t an issue on the printed page because the main characters act as our guide/viewpoint into the world and we see ourselves in them, but on film, it’s unacceptable. I know it’s called Harry Potter, but who are Hermione and Ron away from Harry? All I know about Hermione is that she’s the most seriously serious and seriously boring character in the series. The lack of character development really keeps this series from soaring, in my eyes.

 

And y’know what? I can make an argument for the lack of progression in the main character, too. Think about it. Unless the books contain a fountain of depth not seen on the screen, how much has the character of Harry Potter developed in the eight films? I’d say he stopped developing about three films back. Everything since (and a lot of it before) has just been padding of one form or another as Harry and Lord Voldemort’s final showdown crawls into being. Some of the padding has been amusing, some of it annoying, almost all of it extraneous. Personally, I think the series would’ve been better if it left out a couple of the books almost entirely, and pared down the number of films. As is, it has taken far too long for the chief villain to show up in the series, another problem I’ve always had. He’s the tardiest villain of all-time, and basically, Voldermort just all round sucks. Even now with an expanded role in this film, he still fails to register. He’s not sinister, he’s not interesting, and the makeup is stupid. This is the big baddie of the series? Hmm, maybe a big glowing eye wasn’t so bad, after all. Ralph Fiennes is capable of magnificent villainy, but he swings and misses here.

 

I also have a serious gripe or two with the final moments of the film so ****** SPOILER WARNING ****** I’m sorry, but Harry needed to die. This is more a complaint with Ms. Rowling’s text, I suppose, but he and Voldermort were so inextricably linked that the story needed to go through with what it promised. What could happen to Harry Potter in his life after these events that would measure up? Obviously, this is the last (as far as anyone knows) we’ll see of him, but still, there’s nowhere for him to go after being the ‘Chosen One’ so he might as well have been killed off. Let him die, it’s a cheat otherwise. I also had serious misgivings about the makeup (or lack thereof in many cases) applied to the actors in the epilogue set 19 years later. Harry looks 22 at most and simply hasn’t shaved in a few days, whilst Hermione and Ron don’t look any different at all. Poor Draco, meanwhile, looks about 50. That said, at least it doesn’t have about 20 endings and a 15 minute end credits, so there’s that. ****** END SPOILER ****** Meanwhile, Harry and the gang having to impersonate other people was fun in “Order of the Phoenix”, but it’s utterly redundant here.

 

Now, with all that unpleasantness out of the way, let me tell you that I overall liked the film. In fact, it’s probably among the better films in the series, though still behind the first two and “Order of the Phoenix” (which, by the way, is the only one not scripted by Kloves). Flawed or not, it’s still a very watchable yarn, and the most epic-scale of any of the films. Yes, I still felt like I had wandered into the middle of a story, as is always the case in these films, but I still found myself enjoying it. Unlike the previous film, at least it’s complete. It actually goes somewhere and I felt somewhat entertained by the end, warts and all.

 

With the exception of one murky battle scene (involving shitty CGI, perhaps a 3D-related issue), the film is surprisingly well-lit by cinematographer Eduardo Serra (“What Dreams May Come”, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”). It’s a really beautiful film at times, and the beginning is actually surprisingly bright for this rather dark and gloomy series. Even though you can tell where 3D comes into play, the best special effect in the film is a fireball with what looks like three Voldermort heads coming out. Meanwhile, as crap as Voldermort is, Alan Rickman’s sinister Snape makes up for what is lacking somewhat. He’s easily the most interesting and most layered character in the entire series, and Rickman walks off with the entire film. Warwick Davis’ second role as Griphook proves far more interesting than the forgettable Professor Flitwick and gives the talented actor more to say and do. I still don’t like them giving him a second role when his first one is still so underdeveloped after eight films, though.

 

Overall, I liked this film well enough, but as with most of the films in the series, there are still serious problems in regards to the characters. Perhaps it’s just not an easy series of novels to film. Then again, the series is hugely popular, so perhaps I just don’t get it. I’m sure I’m in the minority on this one for not absolutely loving every single second of it.

 

Rating: B-