Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows
By Gregory McLinden
Image Source: IMDb
Image Source: IMDb
logline (part one): As Harry, Ron, and Hermione race against time and evil to destroy the Horcruxes, they uncover the existence of the three most powerful objects in the wizarding world: the Deathly Hallows.
logline (part two): Harry, Ron, and Hermione search for Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes in their effort to destroy the Dark Lord as the final battle rages on at Hogwarts.
Source: IMDb
It all ends here... the last two films in the absolute global phenomenon. The first of the two films I think it's fair to say has become one of the least approved in the Potter franchise (not including the critically panned Fantastic Beats and the Crimes of Grindlewald). Personally I think this is because they fell into the money grab that lots of other films at the time seemed to do by splitting the last film in two. The first film was a lot of exposition, lots of talking, not a lot of action and magical wand battles we'd come to love from the Potter franchise, instead we get lots of and lots of character growth and this is actually personally one of my favourite entries in the Potter franchise, I love how much we learnt about the characters we'd at this point spent 9 years of our lives watching, and especially after the traumatic ending of the Half Blood Prince is was good to see the characters have time to process this rather than go back in all guns blazing seeking revenge, so whilst it was likely more of a money grab from the studios perspective (and one that lets be honest worked a treat for them) I personally really enjoyed the emotional journey we went on with the characters and watching them process this and hatch a plan that we will see play out in Part 2. Then there was Part 2 and oh my god what an ending to the franchise. We see Hogwarts under attack from Voldermort and his long established army that we have seen grow over the years including the ever brilliant Bellatrix Lestrange played by Helena Boham Carter who for me has to be one of the best things about the Potter franchise. We also see Harry come to some realisations over these two films not least that *spoilers* he himself is a horcrux and therefore he must die for Voldermort to be killed. The important thing about Harry Potter is yes for the most part it is entirely fictional but sometimes the stories and quandaries the characters face are all too real. Now I'm going to verge into spoiler territory here because to discuss the last film I have to discuss this. Throughout all the films before it we have been conditioned to have Severus Snape played incredibly by Alan Rickman but then as Harry collects his dying tears from Snape we realise that throughout Harry's life Snape has been looking out for him and trying to protect him at all costs, because Snape was in love with Harry's mother. As someone who never read the books before going to watch the films seeing this play out on screen I was speechless I didn't know what I was watching, even now writing this review I can vividly remember watching the scene for the first time watching Harry watch Snape's memories. That scene fits among the huge and iconic battle of Hogwarts and honestly despite all the CGI battles and everything that happens this scene with Snape and Harry and watching these very human stories, typing this out is bringing a lump in my throat and making my eyes water. So we come to the end of our time at Hogwarts following Harry and his motley crew and what a journey it has been, the films are iconic and among some of the most rewatchable films out there, no matter how many times I personally have seen each film I can still quite happily watch them again they are truly incredible, and will without a doubt stand the test of time. Goodbye Hogwarts.
My Favorite Character:
Alan Rickman as Severus Snape - Like I said above, over the course of all the films we come to hate and despise Snape. He is always a pain in Harry's ass and lest we forget *spoilers* he killed f*cking Dumbledore so I mean we really aren't meant to like him. But then when we see his backstory play out over the years and watch the tales of how he was trying to protect Harry all this time, we realise all those years of hating on Snape were unfounded. He has always wanted the best for Harry because he was in love with Lily (Harry's mother) and oh my god watching Snape's memories if you can do that without a tear coming to your eye then hats off to you because I sure as hell can't. This is all down to the spectacular, incredible, one of the best actors ever: Alan Rickman. Watching him play Snape, it's one of those things where you can't imagine anybody else in the role. It is a true masterpiece in acting throughout the film and especially as we watch Snape die. I just can't get over how incredible Alan Rickman is and I don't think I have enough time or words to truly express how utterly incredible I think he is in these films, especially the last one where we get so much character growth for Snape and realise he was just a kid in love, but that he vowed to defend his true love’s son. Alan Rickman's portrayal of Snape would have to be in my Top 3 best movie performances of all time. RIP Alan Rickman we will love you: always.
These movies are rated PG-13. Here’s why:
Intense Action Violence
Frightening Images
Brief Sensuality
Something I liked: It isn't a major part of the film but I absolute adore the tale of the three brothers. This short story explains the meaning of the Deathly Hallows, as well as explaining the symbolism which if you know someone who is obssesed with Harry Potter there's a good chance they will have this, or be planning to have this, tattooed somewhere on their body. The story is just so encapsulating you are drawn in to the story of these three brothers, they're characters we don't know and never get mentioned again but the story, it's just incredible as a story, not as a plot device but as a story it is still brilliant. But also as a plot device it works so well at drawing everything together giving you that "Ohhhhhhhhh" moment when watching it. I also like the animation that goes alongside this scene, it wasn't just something that Hermione reads out but we see this play out on screen in beautifully in a gothic, Tim Burton esque style. For me it is one of the stand out scenes of Part 1, to the extent of me going out and buying the "Beedle the Bard" spin off book purely because it has this story in it, so I could read it over and over.
Fun Fact: If you were to binge all the Harry Potter films back to back you would be 1180 minutes which works out at just over 19 and a half hours, so if you have a free day coming up soon then there you go!
Where to Watch:
IMDb’s and Reddit Thread:
