Review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Seriously, this movie received a 96% approval at RottenTomatos? Sir Roger Ebert gave it 3-1/2 stars out of 4? I don't wanna sound like a stinker or anything but Part 2 wasn't satisfying or interesting at all. There were many flaws and they unnecessarily altered or removed many dialogues from the book, thus giving us another reason not to watch movies based on books, especially popular ones. Don't get me wrong but I really enjoyed all Harry Potter installments and I believe that it really started the whole fantasy bug which Hollywood is currently suffering from but Deathly Hallows pt. 2, just like SAW 3D, wasn't at all satisfying or finishing off the franchise in a memorable way. Let's break this review in two parts:

Downfalls: For a very brief period of time, Daniel Radcliffe finally connected himself to this titular character and, in turn, connected with the audience, or at least to me (Goblet of Fire, Prisoner of Azkaban, second half of Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows pt. 1) but something seriously went wrong here. He wasn't up to his usual self and I wouldn't say it was sub-par, it was nearly there. Other than that, they cut out many scenes from the book, especially the whole Pensieve segment, which was a disappointment as I was really looking forward to it. Also, the death scenes of Bellatrix Lestrange and Voldemort. The former explodes and the latter departs in a puff of 'butterflies': WTF?? Thank god the cry of Molly Weasley "not my daughter you bitch" was amazing! Other than all this, they added funny dialogues and moments in otherwise inappropriate times. But on the other hand

Redeeming features: Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Ron & Hermione, respectively, were great as usual. From Goblet of Fire onwards, their peformances greatly increased and they really showed their full potential in this film. No complains on their side. As usual, the effects were gorgeous and I also liked the 19 years later epilogue. I don't why but it was exactly the way I had imagined it to be and it gave. Good performances by supporting cast and quite good cinematography too. It shows what you want to see but at the same time, usues a-lot of close-ups and slow zoom-ins.

Continuing with my habit of recognizing one actor/actress from a Harry Potter installment, I would like to label out Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom from this one. If he was funny in Chamber of Secrets and surprisingly good in Goblet of Fire, then he was the best in Deathly Hallows pt. 2 and he really made full use of his screen-time, delivering a good mix of comedy and heroism which reminded me of a nice, less-swearing version of John McClane or to be more specific, Rocky Balboa without the gloves and cheesy dialogues. His speech near the end of the film is one of the best movie-speeches I've seen. A very impressive performance. All in all, in conclusion, this film was quite bearable and those who still haven't read the books will find it interesting but those you have read it at least 5 times, like me, will kinda find it boring and will notice that it strays too far from the original. Watch if you will but if you're not in the mood for disappointment, then pass off this one and watch it only when you're ready!

5.5/10