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What can I say about the latest (and last) Harry Potter movie other than wow? This commentary won't have any plot details: go see the movie--or better yet read the book if you need to know! Just know that even if you HAVEN'T seen/read any Harry Potter before you won't be completely lost (although it really helps if you have.) The good news is, after movies where the books get severely abridged (lest they run close to five hours) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows gets all the attention it deserves. Most details from the book make it to the screen and those that don't wouldn't be noticed except by the most devoted "Potter-head". The script has the fantastic battles you expect in a summer blockbuster but you also truly care about the characters and their struggles. You feel for those who died and rejoice with characters as they find inner strength they didn't know they had. All the questions are (finally) answered and all mysteries are solved.
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The actors truly inhabit their roles and you can't imagine anyone else playing these parts. It's also good to see so many characters from previous films popping up (for however short a time). The leads, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have grown in ability as well as size. Special note needs to be given to Ralph Fiennes in the thankless role of Voldermort: he's forced to speak in a whisper for most of the movie and is crushed under makeup that renders his face mostly immobile. Still, he conveys an air of menace and creepiness that literally leaps off the screen and grabs the viewer by the throat.
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Taken together Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts One and Two are far and away the best films of the franchise (and that's saying a lot). Are they movies that will stand the test of time? Yes! As they immortal? I don't know--but they are far and away the best movies of 2011 (at least so far). Go see these in the theater because you need to a big screen to properly appreciate the scope of the movie.
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FINAL GRADE: A+
2 comments:
Loved it! Loved loved loved it. I felt like Part 2 was too short, though - not that anything was lacking, just that I want more :-).
Nathan said the only thing that bothered him was a certain character (trying to avoid spoilers here) going to his parents at the end - didn't happen in the books, and he felt it weakened the character in the movie. Thoughts?
The books are so dense that it is virtually impossible to include EVERYTHING (no matter how much a fan might wish they could). With a run time of 2hrs. 10 minutes it start to get long (although nowhere near a butt-number like *Titanic*). I don't dwell on tiny details like the one your hubby cited. Personally, I think the franchise had a fitting end and now I'm curious to see what (if anything) J.K. Rowlings follows up with.
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