An impressive end to Harry Potter saga

Farewell, Harry. Like the tag line states, “It all ends here." The first thing you need to know about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (Warner Bros Pictures) is that this last installment of the JK Rowling book adaptation is astounding. This is a gorgeously rendered film that’s been shot entirely in 3D. If you watch it in that format inside an IMAX theatre, then you can expect twice the visual pleasure. I kid you not. The people behind the movie assume that almost all viewers of Deathly Hallows Part 2 have read the last in the 7-series book and seen the first installment of the two-part movie, so the only catching up that’s given are the final images from Part 1: Lord Voldemort stealing the Elder Wand from the crypt of Hogwarts' ex-Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, and Severus Snape looking down broodingly on the school he now rules as new Headmaster. This is no longer a movie for children. This is the Harry Potter version of a war movie, more action-packed than any of the previous installments.

Yet, this is still a children’s war. The trio of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley are outmatched, outgunned, and outnumbered at nearly every turn. It really is David vs Goliath, the guerrilla fight against an impending evil empire bent on imposing its will on both the muggle and wizarding worlds. Feeling the pressure mount, Harry at one point desperately asks Hermione: "When have any of our plans actually worked? We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose." And all hell does when Hogwarts is finally attacked. “I’ve always wanted to use that spell!" giggles Professor Minerva McGonagall as she animates the stone soldiers scattered through the Hogwarts edifice, even as her fellow instructors raise their own wands to fend off the coming army of darkness. It seems a feeble attempt considering the sheer brawn and mass of Voldemort’s allies, but this movie is about fighting against a truly stacked deck. While concentrating on the battle between 17-year-old Harry and the tall, snake-faced Voldemort, the story also shows the polarization of the wizards. Expect lots of combat from open-field hack and slash to dirty close-quarters combat with wand and fist. Witness the fury of magical bombardment, its aftermath just as devastating as a true carpet bombing air strike. The school is a smoking wreck from the ferocious siege, resembling the ruins of many European cities post-WW2. The comedic moments, which I found distracting and insipid in previous Potter movies, were a welcome break from the sheer heaviness of the tone in this movie. They are a refreshing diversion from the fact that Harry now needs to confront his own demise head-on, a sacrifice that may alleviate the misery of his friends and school mates. The acting, with the cream of British thespian royalty having passed through most of the franchise’s production grind, is top notch. Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort is evil personified, his sibilant voice and beastly gestures a testament to how distant he has receded from his humanity. He is the wizarding world’s Hitler, advocating purity and intolerant of those who are different from him and his Death Eater cohorts. Watch out too, for a short but vital cameo by Kelly MacDonald as Helena Ravenclaw, the Grey Lady. Then there are the three lead actors who have spent half their lives as their characters. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry) has since grown chest hair, Emma Watson (Hermione) now has enough bosom to display as cleavage, and Rupert Grint (Ron) has shot up a full foot or so in height. The final installment is spent in the quest for the Deathly Hallows, the talismans that can lead their carriers to victory. The trio are looking for the four remaining Horcruxes, items in which the Dark Lord has embedded pieces of his soul. Since a Horcrux can also be a person, the plot twist for those few who haven’t read the books reveals a hero disguised in plain sight. The nature of his sacrifice also exposes how little the main characters have really had to suffer for those they love, even and especially Harry. A compelling and grand finale for the series, Deathly Hallows 2 is a satisfying treat for Harry Potter fans. Screenwriter Steve Kloves (who wrote every script except Order of the Phoenix) and David Yates in his fourth term as director must be given credit for bringing the saga to a true coming of age just as it, bitter sweetly, ends. For those fans in their late teens who grew up with the books and saw the movies as they were growing up themselves, the franchise remains a Rosetta stone for their own personal experiences. Spoiled with the lushness with which their fantasy worlds have been brought to 3D celluloid, their pop culture arena is enriched by the Potter movies’ sheer pomp and scale. So go see Deathly Hallows Part 2. Say goodbye to Harry and the rest of the gang and the magic that they brought to everyone’s life. Oh, and one last thing: expect romantic love. – YA, GMA News All photos courtesy of WARNER BROS PHILS