"HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS - Part II" (2011) Review

"HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS - Part II" (2011) Review

When I had first learned that Warner Brothers Studio and the producers of the HARRY POTTER franchise planned to divide the series' last novel into two movies, I had harbored strong doubts against this plan. Then I saw "HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART I" and my doubts were erased. I thought for sure that they would be able to pull this off. And after watching the last movie in the movie . . . I have changed my mind again. 

Directed by David Yates, "HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART II" picked up where "PART I" left off - with the trio seeking refuge at Shells Cottage, the home of the recently married Bill and Fleur Weasley. Despite this, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger continue their search of horcruxes, a group of objects that Lord Voldemort used to store his soul in order to ensure his immortality. After conversations with wand maker Mr. Ollivander and a goblin and Gringotts bank employee named Griphook, the three friends travel to the bank in London to get their hands on another horcrux, stored there by Deatheater Bellatrix Lestrange. After destroying the horcrux - Helga Hufflepuff's cup - the trio is betrayed by Griphook, before they make their escape from Gringotts and London via a dragon imprisoned in one of the bank's vaults. Harry, Ron and Hermione eventually make to Hogsmeade. They are briefly offered refuge by Albus Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, at the latter's tavern. Neville Longbottom arrive and lead the trio to Hogswarts Castle. Before long, the school's inhabitants are engaged in a major battle against Voldemort and his Deatheaters.

As much as I had enjoyed "DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART I", I now realize that it had ended too soon. By ending the 2010 movie with Dobby the House Elf's death (along with Voldemort's discovery of the Elder Wand), screenwriter Steve Kloves was left with the Gringotts Bank sequence before allowing the Battle of Hogswarts to take over the rest of the movie. And if I must be honest, I found this heavy emphasis on the battle very disappointing. The film's title should have been"HARRY POTTER AND THE BATTLE OF HOGSWARTS", instead of the "DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART II".

There were scenes in "DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART II" that I enjoyed very much. Severus Snape's death and memories of his past proved to be just as poignant as portrayed in the novel. Alan Rickman probably gave his best performances in the entire franchise. And he was ably supported by the likes of Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon and Daniel Radcliffe. Another sequence that I enjoyed featured Harry's discussion with Albus Dumbledore in the afterlife, following his "death" at the hands of Voldemort. It was another poignant scene made enjoyable by performances from Radcliffe and Gambon. The kiss exchanged between Ron and Hermione was very memorable - especially in comparison to the slightly disappointing kiss shared between Harry and Ginny. I also enjoyed the sequence featuring the Malfoys' (Jason Isaacs, Helen McCrory and Tom Felton) ultimate rejection of Voldemort in order to preserve their hides. 

However, I have two favorite sequences from the movie. One featured the trio's confrontation with Draco Malfoy and his two friends - Gregory Goyle and Blaise Zabini. Thanks to Yates' direction, Mark Day's editing and the visual and special effects teams, this was an exciting sequence. But my favorite is the Gringotts Bank sequence in which the trio attempts to find the horcrux stored in Bellatrix Lestrange's personal vault. Again, the crew did wonders with this sequence, which was capped by an exciting escape on the back of an imprisoned dragon. This last scene really blew my mind and I believe that Yates and the crew really outdid themselves. The sequence also featured a first-rate performance by Helena Bonham-Carter, who had to portray Hermione . . . impersonating Bellatrix. The actress deserves a Saturn Award nomination for that scene alone.

But as much as I had enjoyed the above mentioned sequences, "HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART II"proved to be a disappointment for me. My main problem with the film is that it fulfilled my worst fears about the movie - it nearly became all about the Battle of Hogswarts. The movie brought back bad memories of the Battle of Helms Deep in "LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS" and the two major battles featured in "LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING". The photography shot by cinematographer Eduardo Serra not only reignited bad memories of the second and third "LORD OF THE RINGS" movies, but also "HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE". The movie's photography possessed that grayish tinge that I found very unappealing. I also recall one scene in which Neville Longbottom found himself facing a large number of Voldemort's combatants at the end of the castle's bridge. I never realized there were that many Death Eaters in the Harry Potter universe. It looked . . . exaggerated. As much as I like Neville, I found the entire sequence featuring the hunt for Voldemort's pet snake and horcrux, Nagini and Neville's killing of it very contrived. Yes, I am aware that Neville did kill Nagini in the novel. But I do not recall Rowling resorting to contrived delay tactics featuring the attempts to kill the snake. By the time Neville killed Nagini - seconds before Voldemort again used the Elder Wand on Harry with fatal results - I realized that I no longer cared. While everyone else cheered, I rolled my eyes in disgust.

For me, the worst aspect of "DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART II" was that it failed to continue the strong narrative that began in "PART I". I got the feeling that screenwriter Steve Kloves, along with Yates, decided to dump the story's narrative by the wayside and focus at least 85-90% of the film on that damn battle. "DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART I"introduced a hint of some kind of scandal in Albus Dumbledore's past. This was apparent in Harry's conversation with Elphias Doge and Molly Weasley's Aunt Muriel at Bill and Fleur's wedding. In "PART II", the trio met Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth Dumbledore, who made ominous hints about the late headmaster's dark past. But this storyline, which had a lot do with how Dumbledore came into possession of the Elder Wand (one of the Deathly Hallows), was dropped the moment Neville made his first appearance. The jettison of this storyline also robbed moviegoers and Harry on the lessons of desire for power . . . and the fact that respected idols and authority figures also have feet of clay. And it seemed to make Ciarán Hinds' appearance in the movie a complete waste of time.

Speaking of wastes of time, if you blink, you might come across some of the franchise's past supporting characters who barely uttered a sound or two in this film. The movie featured appearances by Emma Thompson (Sybil Trelawney), Jim Broadbent (Horace Slughorn), Gemma Jones (Madam Pomfrey), Mark Williams (Arthur Weasley) and Miriam Margolyes (Professor Sprout). At least Julie Walters had her moment in the sun, when she killed Bellatrix Lestrange. Gary Oldman and David Thewlis (Sirius Black and Remus Lupin), along with Geraldine Sommerville and Adrian Rawlins (Lily and James Potter) had a line or two to spout, when Harry used the Resurrection Stone. Audiences also learned that Lupin had become a father . . . as an afterthought. In the novel, the Slytherin students had refused to defend the castle. I had hoped that Kloves would reverse Rowling's narrative and have them take part in the school's defense. Instead, Kloves' script had Minerva McGonagall order all of the Slytherins to be locked in the dungeon before the battle. How disappointing, considering Snape and Slughorn's willing participation in the war against Voldemort. By the way, I saw that Dean Thomas made it to Hogswarts before the trio. In "PART I", he was reported on the radio to be on the run from Snatchers. Why did he decided to return to the dangers of Hogswarts . . . before the battle?


I have another question . . . when did Harry realize that he had become the Master of the Elder Wand? Following Voldemort's death, he had told Ron and Hermione that Draco Malfoy became Master of the Elder Wand, when he disarmed Dumbledore in the Astronomy Tower in "THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE". Harry became the master when he disarmed Draco at the Malfoy Manor in "DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART I". How did he find out? He had overheard Voldemort's conversation with Snape in which he learned that one has kill the current Elder Wand master in order to become one. How did Harry find out that one can also become master by the disarming of a wand? 

Earlier, I had stated that "DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART I" should have ended a little sooner - with the Snatchers' capture of Harry, Ron and Hermione. I usually dismiss other people's attempts to rewrite movies already filmed and released. But now, I find myself doing the same. After watching "PART II", I realized that if "PART I" had ended with the trio being captured by the Snatchers, "PART II" could have featured the Malfoy Manor sequence, Dobby's death and the Gringotts Bank sequence before the film moved on to the Hogswarts battle. I would have also preferred if Kloves had allowed Mr. Ollivander to reveal more about the Elder Wand; and Aberforth Dumbledore to reveal more about his older brother's past.

I wish I could say that I enjoyed "HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART II". I really do. I enjoyed "PART I" a lot. And there were scenes in this last film that really impressed me. But as a whole, this last movie in the franchise proved to be one of my biggest disappointments during the summer of 2011. Pity.