Contributed By Yong Yung Shin
Wow befall the track record of any movie director who would disappoint the legions of Harry Potter fans with anything less than a stupendously stunning finale to the series, and David Yates has done well in ironing out whatever kinks that stifled the previous installments—from shoddy pacing to the dearth of thrills and spills.
Ever since it appeared on the scene, the franchise has evoked the ire of various Christian circles for its elements of witchcraft and wizardry, but there’s no denying the resoundingly biblical message at its center—that love never fails, and that it always prevails over darkness.
In this cinematic swan song of one of modern literature’s most endearing heroes, the fight between good and evil comes to a climatic conclusion, as Harry Potter and his friends search out the remaining Horcruxes in order to destroy Voldemort.
Was it a justified move to split the last book into two parts? Absolutely. Part 2 is visually splendid—it is a technically flawless film, from the sets to the sounds and cinematography. The scenes of Hogwarts under siege are hauntingly spell-binding, the film score atmospheric and the film succeeds in maintaining the tension of imminent war and foreboding throughout the entire two plus hours.
However, speaking as one who has always been more a fan of the Harry Potter series than of Harry Potter himself, the most engaging character (and I risk incurring the wrath of HP diehards by saying this) is Voldemort, played by the demonstrably charismatic Ralph Fiennes. Truly, there is no story-telling device more affecting than the human face (even one hidden behind a noseless façade of horror), on which some of the most memorable moments in this last instalment play out—and fans will know exactly which scenes I am talking about.
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