Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

It all ends. From the moment I saw those words on the poster for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" I was counting down the days until July 15th which I knew would be a monumental day for cinema...the day that the highest grossing franchise of all time comes to a close. And it went out with a magical bang. So far the newest "Potter" has broken every record there is to break making almost half a billion dollars its first weekend. Is it worth all the hype? YES...in every way imaginable and it is my pleasure to tell you why.
"Deathly Hallows Part 1" ended with Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) finding the Elder Wand, the most powerful wand in the world which is capable of preforming the most advanced forms of magic. Now Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is in more of a hurry than ever to find the remaining parts of Voldemort's soul called Horcruxes. But things get worse when Voldemort realizes what Harry is searching for. The final stopping point of the trio's search is where it all began...Hogwarts school. Knowing that the final Horcrux rests in the halls of Hogwarts, Harry continues his search while all the teachers, students, and members of the remaining Order of the Phoenix prepare for the final battle against Voldemort and his army of Death Eaters who stand just outside the castle walls. In the Battle of Hogwarts, old faces will be seen, secrets will be told, and the ultimate sacrifice will be made so that the Dark Lord can finally meet his end.
Despite being the shortest entry in the series (clocking in at just over two hours) "Deathly Hallows Part 2" has more action, emotion, chills (the good kind) than any previous "Potter" film. Thinking back, the Battle of Hogwarts took up about three fourths of the movie. But don't worry, it not all mindless action and explosions (Transformers). All of the action has a distinct purpose like to show the bravery of a student against a hoard of enemies, to show the sacrifice that Harry's friends make for him, to show Mrs. Weasley (Julie Walters) dish it out on a certain female Death Eater, or to show that there is still hope. The action is never just there.
But between the duels and suspense are emotional moments. Scenes that have the most power in the series. Scenes that have no music and no dialogue. The prime example of the emotion found in "Hallows" is the moment where we find out the life story of the mysterious Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) which ends up being one of the key points in the entire saga. "Hallows" reaches its audience better than any of its predecessors have, and I'm not just saying that because of the tears I could hear around me.
And then there is the acting. The world has seen Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson grow up over the past ten years and their acting always grew with their age. Now, at the climax, it's better than ever. Dan was challenged with acting out the most difficult scenes of the series and he pulls off every one. My favorite scene of his doesn't even have any words. He just acts with his body and his eyes and his breathing...and it is powerful. As always the trio is surrounded by an all star British cast including Maggie Smith, Jason Isaacs, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, and many many others, but who could talk about the "Harry Potter" series without mentioning Alan Rickman. Possibly the best casting choice of the films, Rickman once again pleases as Severus Snape but this time showing a whole new side of the dark professor that people who did not read the books probably were not expecting (but I would never tell you about it in this review).
And then there is a whole other thing to deal with. It's over, the series has come to an end. All the adults who adored the books and films and introduced their children to them are saying goodbye. All the kids like me who have spent the majority of our lives reading the books, watching the films, going to midnight book releases and film premiers...are saying goodbye to a major piece of our childhood. I was in dismay just like the rest of the fandom, until I remembered the words of J.K. Rowling, "Hogwarts will always be here to welcome you home." It all ends, but not our love for Harry. His magical world will always live on to be enjoyed by countless others. This great achievement in cinema deserves every bit of the four stars out of four.
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" has a running time of 130 minutes and is rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence and frightening images.