Firstly, a lot of time has passed since I seen this film or movie in America speak. An even greater amount of time has passed since I read the book, so please don’t take offense if some details or discussion of details in the film are slightly awry.
The word phenomenon doesn’t do justice to the Harry Potter franchise [god I hate myself for using that word but that's for another day], so I have coined a ‘new’ phrase for it: super-mega-phenomenon. This is the part where most would quote some utterly meaningless factoids to make their case about why the Harry Potter franchise is a super-mega-phenomenon, not moi. Harry Potter, both the books and the films, changed people lives, brought people together, divided some. It brought happiness and sadness in almost equal measure, because whilst Harry, Ron and Hermione are clearly the lead characters, one is made to feel for the supporting cast, many of whom perish throughout the series, like Mad-eyed Moody, Sirius and Dobby, to name but a few. Anyways, time to discuss the final installment of this super-mega-phenomenon…..
I viewed it, as 99% people did, in 3D. 3D provided the film with the odd flourish, but I feel that it wasn’t utilised fully. Avatar trumps HP7 in terms of 3D, to be honest. And by quite a margin. 3D is supposed to draw one in to film moreso than a 2D effort, but it didn’t do so in this film, not on any sort of a consistent basis anyway, though that could be said to be a good thing, it is not in my opinion. HP7 didn’t need 3D to draw people in, people were drawn in from the very first films and from reading the books. Also, using the acronym ‘HP7′ makes it sound like a printer cartridge, well at least to my mind. Perhaps I am odd, I don’t know. Answers on a postcard….
A few details niggled about the film, like when the trio were in Gringotts, with Hermione as Bellatrix and Ron as ……., the question has to be asked as to why they didn’t use Bellatrix’s wand when asked, given that we found out in an earlier scene that they were in possession of it. Another niggle is from the sequence where Harry makes himself known to Snape, where he’s wearing a cloak and once Snape apparates Harry is then seen wearing a cord jacket…..
But even these niggles cannot detract from what was a great ending to one of the best film franchises the world has ever seen. The film never dragged, always keeping one engaged and on tenterhooks, and for this David Yates must be applauded. It has many stand out moments, like when Professor McGonagall casts the spell to get the statues to come to the aid of the school. This moment helped break the tension that no doubt was building in the audience. Another standout moment comes when Neville, who I am told is now ‘hot’, is on the bridge taunting the death-eaters, who are kept at bay by a force-field when suddenly it’s effectiveness is shattered and Neville has to run for his life while trying to destroy the bridge. He only just makes it, much to the audience’s relief – gasps evidenced that this was the case.
From beginning, where we open on the burial of Dobby, to end, where we see Harry and gang as adults, this film tugs at the heartstrings, much like the previous films. It is a fitting end, which is probably the best compliment one can pay to it.
This was never going to be a blow by blow account of the film, and is more a rambling note. Enjoy. Perhaps next time I do a film review I’ll do it sooner than three weeks after viewing. Perhaps.
