Agenda Movie Club: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2)

David Yates

2011

As I’ve said any number of times, I’ve never read the books (though I plan to, now that the movies are finished). So I’m not comparing the movies to anything. But I do agree with all the critics I read who called this a “very satisfying conclusion.” It really worked. I enjoyed it a whole lot.

I saw the movie in 3-D IMAX on opening night (yeah, so, it was a long time ago… whatever), so I’m sure my experience was enhanced by the crowd– lots of kids dressed up and running around having wand battles and stuff. Kinda neat.

My experience was not enhanced by the 3-D, though. I’m going to continue to complain about this. The movie is already dark and murky, and cutting out a good third of the light with those awful glasses didn’t help. I will say that the big orb of energy that protects Hogwarts (some people might call it a “force field”) was pretty darned cool in 3-D though. But other than that, I could have done without it.

The movie is mostly a battle, so there’s not a lot I had to think about. But I still had trouble figuring out exactly why some things were happening. Why are the “deathly hallows” necessary for the story? I couldn’t think of a reason that either parts of the movie presented, other than to drive the plot. Anything I could think of could easily be worked around in a slightly different way, and that would have made the plot simpler. So I’m hoping the book makes those things more necessary in a way the movies didn’t.

But I’m glad I saw it, I’m glad I’ve seen them all, and I figure I’ll be glad once I’ve read the books.