A note about Harry Potter 7 Part 2
So Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (or HP 7.2) succeeded not only in emptying my wallet to movie executives but also searing my eyes with action, action, ACTION.
I guess forking over ten bucks to see the Wizard Battle of All Wizard Battles is a worthwhile purchase. It certainly made good use of its 2-hour-plus running time, proving that the “Part 2″ label I had been worried about was more than a rouse to get my money and drag out the action for half a year. Most of the movie was indeed action upon action, with few of those lighthearted moments that made all the other HP movies so captivating, but I guess that’s the price you pay when the world’s about to end.
Even though everyone was busy despairing, the characters did crack some jokes, though most of them missed the pan and spilled all over the floor, which was already covered in bloodied goblins and dead wizards. So the mood was spoiled, and even more so by the lack of tension going into a lengthy battle sequence. If the Big Battle had been tacked on to the first part of Deathly Hallows, we would be raring for a good brawl. Instead, I felt like I had taken a half-year nap and oh, okay, an apocalyptic battle, you say? I’ll just put on my shoes and be out in a minute.
I think the reason HP 7.2 wasn’t a waste of my money, since I liked it the least of any Harry Potter film before it, is because it gave us a good battle, full of heroic feats and scavenger-hunting and final glimpses of important characters before they kicked the sorting hat. My favorites were Snape and Neville, who truly shone. Dumbledore—or the “new” Dumbledore, as I call him, since no one can ever replace the charming old actor who originally played Dumbledore before passing away—was a boring schmuck, as usual, and not at all engaging.
One other note about the film: what’s with the they’re-kind-of-aged ending? Harry was the only one who looked believably aged; Ron just had a gut; and all they did to Hermione was put up her hair.
In all, the movie was okay, but I would have gladly rented it. No wonder the internet has nothing else to say about it except, “It was a good end to a great series.”
