Quantcast
Channel: Widescreen Warrior » jim broadbent
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 3

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 3D [Review]

0
0

This is it, the movie event of the summer – the final chapter in the highly successful and cherished Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling. The most anticipated and potentially highest grossing film of 2011 (bringing in $92 million on its opening day alone and that’s just stateside) finally makes its way into cinemas across the globe: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. David Yates, who has been guiding the series since 2007 with Order of the Phoenix, returns to direct the concluding chapter and delivers the best film of the entire series. The film is full of action, emotion, drive and suspense. The decision to split the final book into two movies pays off, creating a opportunity for screenwriter Steve Kloves to pen the most focused and streamlined script of the series. The series actors (Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson who portray Harry, Ron and Hermoine) mature into a trio of confident, professional and captivating young actors always succeeding in bringing the literary characters to life. In fact, all the supporting cast, the entire ensemble, are spot on from Warwick Davis and Helena Bonham Carter to Ralph Fiennes and Alan Rickman. This film is the culmination of over a decade of investment, by the studio and movie patrons alike, and it delivers like no other film has. Ever. A nearly perfect film.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 benefits from all the previous films, the relationships that have been built, the world that that has been lovingly created and the horrific reign that Lord Voldemort threatens upon Hogwarts and sorcerers everywhere. Secrets are revealed and allegiances are tested. The stakes are dire and no character holds a guarantee of survival – even Harry Potter must dance at death’s door. The resulting story is tense, exciting and emotional. The final adventure is fast-paced, focused and energetic with the characters quickly making their way back to Hogwarts – a location sorely missed in Part 1 – where the remainder of the film plays out. It’s David versus Goliath, Luke Skywalker against Darth Vader, Sam and Frodo facing Gollum at the Crack of Doom – it’s the ultimate good against evil, the simplest of stories told on the grandest scale. With six previous books, seven movies and over a decade of design and plot, the final chapter of Harry Potter succeeds in glorious fashion, producing applause and tears alike.

Much of this is due to the acting from the leads: Radcliffe, Grint and Watson. A remarkable and fortuitous act of casting, the three have grown in front of fans’ eyes, on screen, and have matured into some of the best young actors in Hollywood today. They are much more than actors who play these characters any longer: they’re heroes, friends, and family. A great moment in the film, where a brief flash shows Harry Potter putting on the sorting hat from The Sorcerer’s Stone, really captures this in an instant, much like looking a photograph in a family album. Ron and Hermoine’s flirtatious relationship over the past few films blossoms in a perfect moment of hope and affection. Harry matures into a man facing the hardest decision of any wizard’s life and facing unbeatable odds. These are daunting tasks for any actor, but yet these three bring it all to life, seemingly without effortless. The series hinges on how successful Potter, Weasley and Granger are portrayed and miraculously, beyond all hope and possibilities, they succeed.

As do the supporting actors, many of which get moment to shine, most notably Maggie Smith, Matthew Lewis, Ralph Fiennes and Alan Rickman. As Professor Minerva McGonagall, Maggie Smith is finally allowed the opportunity to stand up and take action, not only facing off with Snape but commanding the entire school to battle against the rising army of Death Eaters. It is a delightful performance. Lewis’s Neville Longbottom literally becomes the hero in this film, wielding the Sword of Gryffindor and standing alone against Voldemort in defense of Harry Potter. He’s just a small example of how the entire young cast have grown throughout the series. Fiennes underlines the evil of Voldemort with a determination and an unsettling fear that deserves recognition. He gives the Dark Lord a depth that surpasses many cinematic villains. But more than any other, Alan Rickman as Professor Severus Snape is incredible. He brings the complexity to the character to life in rich, astonishing ways, able to convey a variety of emotions and conflicting intentions with just a gaze or a stance. His distinctive voice and presence is perfect of Snape, especially during the revealing flashbacks within the pensieve.

Much of the success should be shared with director David Yates who has guided the last four films for the last three books and the writer Steve Kloves who has adapted each of these monumentally thick and challenging books to screen. Many literary sources struggle to get a single translation to film – success or failure – but yet Kloves magnificently brings the final chapter to screen – as he has with each of J.K. Rowling’s novels. He brings the best parts to life, delicately exorcises excess story and plot, reworks the written word to cinematic exposition expertly and drafts some great dialog and memorable lines. Even when bordering on camp or cliche, Kloves keeps the script for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 on track with a keen eye on the conclusion. In the words of Ron Weasley, “Brilliant.” David Yates takes the script and drives the visuals home. The film is stunning, beautiful and magical. The script allows Yates to pace the film much tighter than the previous films with a more focused goal. He gives the audiences broad strokes of epic battle as the Death Eaters attack Hogwarts; a tense, effects filled scene where Harry races to collect one of the final horcruxes; and a powerfully and quiet moment after Harry learns the secrets revealed by peering into the pensieve. The pallet is beautiful, the locations are sublime and the emotions packed thick with fear, honor, passion, betrayal, suspicion and hope. Rowling’s entire series and Yates and Kloves’ final Harry Potter film deliver an exhausting and rewarding conclusion where family, honor, loyalty and love endure and persevere. It defines fantasy and gives reality hope.

For the final episode, Warner Brothers has converted the film to 3D. While not entirely successful, the 3D in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is, at times, splendid, amazing – subtle and beautiful. This is very different 3D than previously seen in movies like Transformers: Dark of the Moon or Avatar. This is one of the more successful conversions to date. From the opening scenes where the Dementors hover over Hogwarts to the final battle between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort, the 3D draws the audience in – surrounding them in the fantasy world. The film is filled with multiple moments of fantastic, action-filled 3D goodness: a thrilling ride into the vaults of Gringotts; the escape from Gringotts atop a ferocious recently freed dragon; fleeing from the Fiendfyre curse as the flames engulf the Room of Requirement; or Professor Minerva McGonagall animating the castle’s stone knights to guard the entrance. It’s simply amazing. But it’s not always successful where in many scenes the 3D remains flat, providing little to no enhancement. One scene in particular illustrates the problem of keeping 3D consistent: when Harry takes a final look into Professor Dumbledore’s Pensieve. At first Harry holds the flat, disk like container and gently tosses it across the room – the result is disappointing with no real impact where there definitely could have been. But the next instant, Harry steps up to the Pensieve and the depth in Dumbledore’s office is extraordinary with the 3D illustrating the vastness and scale of the room. And then, finally, as Harry dips into the watery Pensieve, the wisps and watery smoke dance across the screen in 3D glory. While the action scenes are exceptional, the quieter scenes using 3D work even better: when the magically shields protecting Hogwarts cracks and crumbles or the ashes of victory float above the courtyard. Once scene mixes the two elements to near perfection: in the scene, Neville Longbottom, lying unconscious on the floor, awakens in slow motion in the foreground as a battle plays out behind him – he sits nearly still as his friends and Death Eaters exchange blows in the near distance. It’s a quiet and poignant moment embraced and enhanced by 3D.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is a fantastic and rewarding film that brings the much beloved series to a successful close. It touches the soul and keeps the heart racing. It is superb, emotional, concise and well-paced – the best in the series by far. The decision to split the seventh books pays off, creating a tense streamline final chapter. David Yates directs the film with a confident hand and guides the cast to perfection, each bringing their characters to life and hitting each note with flair and passion. If ever the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were to award an Oscar for an ensemble, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 would be the film that deserves it. Quite remarkably the Harry Potter series goes out much stronger and more confident than it began, which very few movie series can boast. This is fantasy film done right. Bravo.

-Doc Rotten


Read our Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (non 3D) review and rate the final Harry Potter film here!

Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 3

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images