The Final Installment (At Least We Thought)

Blog Post 14

While Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has not always been my favorite book of the series, Part Two has always been my favorite movie for several reasons. Even though some of my favorite scenes were changed from the book, AKA the final battle scene, I still always choose Deathly Hallows Part 2 for whenever I just need a quick Harry Potter movie fix.

It’s probably always been my favorite because it’s a movie entirely of action. The other movies had to go through setting up the entire plot arc, therefore making only the last twenty to thirty minutes of the movie pure action. However, since they split up the last book, it made part one most of that set up plot line while part two was all climax.

It’s also my favorite simply because of the special effects. Since it was the last movie to be made, it has much newer special effects within it making it all the more special. Sorcerer’s Stone was released in 2001 while Deathly Hallows Part 2 was released in 2011. While ten years doesn’t sound incredibly long, the special effects in movies developed drastically in that time frame. If part 2 was released in 2001, there’s no way the dragon escape scene or the Battle of Hogwarts would’ve been nearly as cool. Considering Part 2 was nominated in 2012 for the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, I think it’s pretty evident that they were super awesome.

I also think it’s my favorite film just because of the actors development. Obviously there’s not much they could’ve done to fix this in the first films, but the acting at the end of the series is substantially better than in the first few films. I love watching the first movies as a nostalgic trip, but let’s be honest, the acting was not top notch. There’s not anything they could’ve done to appease this considering the main characters were only twelve years old and acting in their first major movie. However, they learned from their ten years on the set of Harry Potter and clearly grew in their art, making the final movie all the better.

Lastly, it’s my favorite movie because it’s finally the end of everything we have been waiting for. Even though the final book had already come out, this was the actual last installment of the Harry Potter series. Just from a nostalgic point of view, this is where everything finally comes together. Everything that all seven books were aiming for was finally coming to a close so getting to see it on the big screen just definitively wrapped it all up.

While I do wish they had kept the final battle scene as it is in the book, I find the rest of the movie to be as close to perfect as it could be (for the most part- Harry snapping the Elder Wand still makes no sense but whatever). Many of the other films I can find little holes to pick apart at, but I find this film to have the least of them. If only one movie of the series could’ve been perfect, I’m glad for it to have been this one because it’s our last glimpse into the world of Harry Potter. While I’ll always prefer the books to the movies, it’s nice to see the world we love come to life on the big screen and I feel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 did the best job in doing so.