Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Hey there! Here we are. Finally, the last one in a series of trips, I tried to take everyone on, down the memory lane. As I try to put words to all that I feel, I really have no idea how to frame them coherently. So, pardon me dear reader, for the final time, for this series, in case I lose my train of thoughts. Now, without further delay, I introduce to you my take on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two.
As the series progresses, you might have noticed that I keep saying that the things are getting darker. However, this movie, this is the place where it gets so dark, that you wonder, “Ye darkness kahe khatam nahi hota?!” (Pardon my attempt at a very bad joke). So, back to the plot, the dark things that were lurking in the corners, just out of our reach and understanding, or even just making brief appearances, are here. In full force!
Now, here I would like to take a minute and bask in the sheer excellence of one formidable Professor Minerva McGonagall. Graceful, poised and ready to take on any challenge whatsoever, come what may. While in the previous movies Maggie Smith, as Professor McGonagall, was always present in the sidelines, making sure our Golden Trio die not die, or worse, got expelled. However, here we see a completely different facet of her character. She takes charge and she gets the job done, like it is another day at work and not the battle for the survival and existence of the Wizarding World against the “most” powerful dark wizard, maybe. So yes, I guess while everyone did their bit, Maggie Smith stood out amongst everyone else.
Character developments are a crucial part for any franchise that runs as long as the Harry Potter franchise did. Over the seven books and eight movies we saw a lot of them growing into the people they were meant to be. We witnessed their struggles and the paths they chose, understood why they did it. However, I have too many complaints to list. I am not going to crib about them (I did promise that I’ll try to keep the cribbing to the minimum).
One little point to be noted here is the use of light. The lights have been brilliantly used for setting the mood of the scene. For instance, to denote the darkness that is gathering closer and faster than ever, most of the scenes were shot in dark, glum and dreary lights. The end of the battle saw light and things were starting to calm down as the comforting rays of the sun touched them.
The sets, the scenes, the special effects, the VFX, the sounds and the actors were all amazing. However, what wasn’t amazing was the plotline. The movie was more action than a conclusion to seven grand projects that it was supposed to bring to a conclusion. Several necessary plot points were ignored in favour of a lot of unnecessary additions that the director saw fit.
Nevertheless, seeing how it was the final chapter, it will always have my love.
I did not watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two for more than five years after it was released. My reason was simple, I hated endings the most. I kept thinking that the magic the franchise has woven for me would vanish once I watched this one. However, some time in 2016, I sat down for a marathon binge session and finished with all the movies in the series at once. I then went to read the books (I had stopped reading the books halfway into the fourth one).
However, the magic, the madness, nothing died. In fact, the more I think about it, I feel that it grows with me. The more I watch the movies or read the books, the better I feel.
Thank you, dear reader, for going on this particular journey with me. Let me know what you thought about this series, in general, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two, in particular.
And with that I bid you farewell, till the time we meet again. I will soon be back with a review on something else, who knows a new movie or even a series might get me back at it faster than you could have thought?
Disclaimer: The above review solely illustrates the views of the writer.