The end has finally been reached with the Harry Potter franchise. It's all been building up to this moment so forgive me a moment of reflection over the series. I remember when the popularity of Harry Potter was just beginning. My sister had started the books and I tried reading them but thought they were boring and stopped after only a few pages of the first book. When the first film was coming out I figured it would be better to give the book another try before I watched the film and this time the book grabbed my attention and I read all of them that were out at the time.
I still remember sitting in the theater for that first film with my family and the first images on screen. Dumbledore stealing the lights of the street. I ended up seeing every Potter film in the theater even dressing up for the third film. Harry Potter was such a cultural phenomenon, like Star Wars, but one I was growing up with. Now the seventh book is one of my least favorite books so I wasn't really looking forward to the last film except to finish the series. Watching Part 1 I felt really excited for Part 2 and I kept putting it off but I finally say down to watch it.
I think some of the problems with the film are also in the book so it's hard to overcome that but some of the choices I felt were unnecessary and I was disappointed in David Yeats' direction which I loved in the fifth film. There were too many scene where nothing happened. Shots dragged on for too long without anything of consequence happening. And I can't help but thinking that if they were to take those shots out they could have been only one film.We really didn't need to see Harry finding and destroying each and every horcrux, that's why there's a book! The epilogue was horrible but it was horrible in the book as well. I remember reading that the cast were going to be aged using the same technology that was used in Benjamin Button but they didn't look much older. And Ginny's outfit was ridiculous! Ralph Finnes was good as Voldemort but I felt his character wasn't that great in this film. There just wasn't enough for him to do another signal that the two part film should have been just one.
The reappearance of old characters was nice in a way to see them again but at the same time not handled well enough. The film spent too much time trying to be artistic and remind everyone of past characters without focusing on the main characters properly. The prime example I can think of is the conversation between Fred and George where they call each other by their names so that the audience knows which one dies in the end. It was so obvious that the audience being unable to differentiate between them needed to be told which one died. There was so much death in this last one that you were almost overwhelmed by it and couldn't respond to it or feel a connection to the characters who died, due also to the poor set up of characters. Also, unlike the films in the past special effects were used too often. When Harry is taking Snape's memories and putting them in the pensive it floats in mid-air which is hadn't before and it didn't add to it. I miss the Chris Columbus films where the special effects were used sparingly to make it that much more magical like where the pictures move. having said that the attack on Hogwarts was magnificent.
Where the film did excel was in the representation of Snape's storyline/memories where everything about the past comes out which was beautifully acted by Alan Rickman. I was in tears throughout the whole scene. It was very well done. The film and the book for me is all about Snape as well as Neville Longbottom who also had a good part in this film. Standing up to Voldemort was a very funny scene but kinda awkward at the same time. It's weird to have it all over now it will be interesting to see what will replace Potter which seems to be the big question now but also I'm interested in finding out if turning the last film into two parts will stick as a trend. Twilight is trying it but it may come down to each film. Once both parts are released on DVD it will be nice to see both parts together to really see if my initial reaction of not needed two films to tell the seventh book holds up.
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