Now Playing: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011)

It took some planning and some trading in of tickets, but I actually managed to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 on opening night! I had mentioned in yesterday's look at Part 1 that I have seen all the previous movies in the franchise, but what I didn't mention is that there are only a few I actually really liked. Also, after yesterday's treat, I really didn't have high hopes for this one. I'll get into that a bit more after the jump break, along with my thoughts on the film, the 3D treatment, and the overall value of seeing it in the theater.


The story picks up right where Part 1 left off, and really ramps up from there. This whole film is about the finish, the finale, the end. I don't think I'll get much more into than that. All of the movies, 8 in total, have one unifying and underlying story which is simply Harry Potter vs Lord Voldemort. It finally all comes to a head here.

First of all, let me just say that this is very easily my favorite Harry Potter movie ever! While I was complaining about the lack of action in Part 1, this one is almost ALL action! The movie actually starts off quite calm and restful as it picks up with our team on the beach they ended on in the last film. You can just tell it's just the calm before the storm. From then on, it's mostly action and magic battles and monsters and fighting. It actually makes me wish I had just seen all the Potter films before seeing this as there are call-backs to almost all the movies I think. It really tests your knowledge of the film series. I'm not really up on all my Harry Potter knowledge, so I probably missed out on a lot of insider stuff, but I never felt like I didn't know what was going on. Really all it means is that super fans of the franchise will get way more out of it, but it's still perfectly serviceable to regular muggles like myself.

Originally I was going to see this movie in regular old 2D since I had just seen the first part in 2D, so it just made sense. Also I knew this was a post-conversion job, meaning it wasn't filmed using 3D cameras, they just fiddle with it on computers to try and "cut-out" portions of scenes and arrange them like a pop-up book. Unfortunately for me and my friends,even though we were 1 1/2 hours early, the line up for people with tickets to the 2D show was absolutely massive! We would have been in horrendous seats for sure, so we went back and changed our tickets to the 3D show an hour later. On the plus side, we had amazing seats! On the negative side, I don't think the 3D added a lick of difference to the film. The few times I noticed it, it was minor, or had that pop-up book vibe that just doesn't look good. Straight up, if you're seeing this, DON'T SEE 3D!

I didn't mention it much in my review of Part 1 but I was pretty lost most of the time, especially at the beginning. It was so bad that I had thought at one point I must have missed a film before it. This time around though I never had that problem. The storytelling and characters and plot were much more accessible and actually made sense. That was my biggest worry for this one, but it all made much more sense to me.

I could go on about characters or acting or special effects or any number of other things, but they were all really good in my mind. I had a really good time, and I think the audience did too, as they actually applauded and cheered during some scenes in the film. I don't think I've ever actually experienced that before, and even though I obviously didn't have the connection to the franchise like many others did, it brought a big smile to my face and made the moment seem that much better!

As a side note, I'd like to mention some of the "extras" I've heard about this movie that have nothing to do with the actual film itself. For one thing, I heard that a teaser for the next Batman movie would be in front of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2, but we never got to see it. The other thing is that I've heard reports of special 3D glasses that look like Harry's. I did see a pair at the theater, but it seems they're running out fast, so when we finally got our tickets sorted out, the glasses we got where just the regular kind. So if that's why you're going to see 3D, just to get the glasses, bear in mind that you could very easily not get them, and also you'll be horribly wasting your money on the 3D for this movie.

In short, see this movie, it's pretty great! If you're a fan of the series, this should blow you away even more. It was a great way to finish the series. Have fun! (Don't see it in 3D)