THE END IS NEAR
Only weeks ago, after ten seasons of watching Clark Kent grow from a socially awkward teenager into the greatest superhero ever known to Earth, SMALLVILLE came to an abrupt, albeit long overdue, end. The series finale hit all the right notes, though it did seem rushed and anticlimactic. To be fair, the producers had the difficult task of tying the broader story behind Superman’s journey into the plot from the last season. But, with any major franchise, the die-hard fans are unforgiving.
Even greater is the task facing the filmmakers behind HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART II, the final chapter in another decade-long franchise of heroic proportions. Make no bones about it: the Harry Potter movies are already the highest grossing film franchise of all time, even bigger than STAR WARS, JAMES BOND or THE LORD OF THE RINGS. The only thing more overwhelming than Potter’s box office take is the expectation that the magical saga’s conclusion will be every bit as epic as author J.K. Rowling had intended.
ALL GOOD THINGS…
As with SMALLVILLE, Potter fanatics already know how the story will play out. If they have read the books, they know who wins in the battle between Harry and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. So, the inevitable challenge is to take a beloved story, remain faithful to it, but also bring something new to make it exciting.That novelty may be found in the film’s 3D release, a first for a Potter flick. However, 3D effects are too often a crutch for poor storytelling. Done right, they can fully immerse the audience in the action, but 3D alone cannot make a bad movie good. Instead,muggles must count on the cast and crew to deliver a stellar emotional performance.
EARLY REVIEWS
Luckily, four-time director David Yates has already shown that he can highlight just that. Yates has now been at the helm for half of all the Potter films, putting his stamp on the series more so than any other director before him. Whatever one thinks of his style, it has given the Harry Potter movies an indispensable dose of continuity. And if early reviews are any indication, viewers won’t need to be smuggled a love potion from Romilda Vane to dote on DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2.
PART 1 VS. PART 2
Whereas PART 1 was notable for the absence of Hogwarts, PART II is centred on the castle grounds and the full-blown war between the Order of the Phoenix and Voldemort’s Death Eaters. After You-Know-Who discovers that Harry, Ron and Hermione have returned to Hogwarts to find and destroy his remaining Horcruxes, he tries to head them off. Fans who doubted whether Yates could do justice to the Battle of Hogwarts after cutting the final battle sequence out of HALF-BLOOD PRINCE can rest assured that the final film is one big action-packed adventure. While PART 1 may have been short on action, PART 2 is anything but. Let’s not forget that they are, and must be treated, as halves of one larger story.
SPOILER ALERT
When we last left the wizarding world, Dobby, Hedwig, Mad-Eye Moody and the Minister of Magic were all killed. Ron successfully destroyed Salazar Slytherin’s locket, leaving at least three more Horcruxes to go before the Dark Lord can be defeated. Meanwhile, Voldemort stole the Elder Wand from Dumbledore’s tomb, giving him the edge he needs to kill Harry Potter once and for all.
FRIEND OR FOE?
In PART 2, these loose ends are all tied up, including the question as to whether or not Professor Snape (now headmaster of Hogwarts) is a friend or foe. Did he murder Dumbledore in HALF-BLOOD PRINCE out of hate, or pity? Viewers will delight at the emotional resolution behind his story, as it is played out through flashbacks to Snape’s years as a Hogwarts student. At least one critic has already called it the best scene of the entire series, praising Alan Rickman for his depth and range of emotion.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Fans can also anticipate more death and despair as close friends are killed left, right and center. Other familiar faces that have been AWOL since the early movies, including Hogwarts faculty, will also return to battle Voldemort. Using age-enhancing makeup and CGI, the audience will also see what life is like for the survivors of the wizarding war 19 years into the future. But perhaps no other scene is more anticipated in the final film than the moment when Ron and Hermione kiss.
10 YEARS IN THE MAKING
Why, you may ask? It’s because the appeal of DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 won’t come from 3D effects, or from big battles, or death and destruction. It will come from knowing that this is the very last Harry Potter movie. How it happens doesn’t matter as much as the fact that it does happen. The excitement stems from seeing something play out on the silver screen that, before now, one could only have imagined. It is the answer to the dreaded “To Be Continued” and the moment muggles have been waiting 10 long years for.
And till DEATHLY do us part, Potter fans will follow the Boy Who Lived, straight to the cinema.
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