Review ~ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 ~ A Non Spoiler Review

Review ~ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

A Non Spoiler Review

Story and Picture By PansTinkerBell

Yes I like Harry Potter! I enjoy a good Sci-Fi or Fantasy story. Add the fact I have a teenage daughter and Harry Potter is a must see for our family.

My DH went to the movie theater a week and a half ago to purchase tickets for the Friday 12:05 AM showing. We locked away the tickets and DH made sure he had both Thursday and Friday off so we could go and enjoy the midnight show. We are glad we purchased the tickets early as all 16 screens at the multiplex we go to sold out days before opening.

DH and DD got in line for the show at 3:00 AM Thursday morning. From then we took turns trading off who was in line. We were the first for our theater to be in line. We made friends with the people in line around us and we helped each other hold spots. Was the movie worth the wait? YES!!

I live near Burbank, California, the true movie capital of the world and we chose to see the movie in Burbank. There were many people dressed up in costume for the opening show. We had many Hogwarts students of all four houses and even Professor Snape (or two) was there. The scarcest person was Lord Voldemort.

Knowing the story I knew that this movie was going to be hard to watch and more than a little sad. I’m glad to say it is sad but not as depressing as I thought it would be.

The story picks up right where Deathly Hollow’s Part 1 ends. You are quickly brought right back to the fight between good and evil. The fight is intense and almost non-stop. There are well placed moments where you can catch your breath before you go into the next battle, just to have your breath taken away again. I was pleased to see they did not linger on and unnecessarily dwell on the necessary deaths in the movie. The director made wise choices to focus just long enough for you to see, understand and respond to the death but did not get mired in the moment. By doing that you felt the moment and grieved and the story moved on.

This story is all about choices. Will the characters stand for right or bow to the pressure of evil? Will they choose to reach out and protect others, even at great cost to themselves, up to and including loss of life? This is a story of ultimate victory and the strength of love. One major choice Harry has to make is accepting the past for what it was and making the best choice he sees for the future he wants. More than once I was surprised by even the “minor” characters making bold choices and standing firm in the face of overwhelming odds.

Unlike the rest of the Harry Potter movies where the story focused on development of the characters and watching them grow and build relationship this movie focused on their actions/reactions to what was going on around them. This movie was much more adult in nature than the rest or the series. The story content and intensity are more than most young children can/should handle. With all the deaths and violence it can be unsettling for the very young.