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A decade in the making; some of the best British actors seen on screen together; and three children that have grown up before millions of viewers eyes.  The Harry Potter series has been a long-standing series that has had its highs and lows with such a rich, invigorating world.  And so, the feeling comes, with some great sadness, that we as a movie audience have finally come to the end: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Pt. 2.  After a good but strangely paced first half, has the responsibilities of wrapping up the series with this second half been carried out well?  Yates still has some kinks in his directorial style that are noticeable and irksome but all-in-all, Deathly Hollows Pt. 2 wraps up the series with some great gusto and emotions.

This final entry in the Harry Potter series suffers from some of Yates’ filming style and plot directions.  Yates has filmed the past three films to varying degrees of success yet has always seemed to have made consistent, strange filming decisions in all of them.  These oddities range from strange uses of slow motion to framing one scene awkwardly next to one another, creating disturbances with the flow of the film.  Death scenes are additionally peculiar and are awkwardly pulled off.   The occurrences come off as a bit strange because they do not consistently come up either.

The second Yates’ oddity comes from overall plot direction.  Even without knowledge of the overall plot of the book, some plot points are skimmed over quickly in favor of bigger action scenes or to push the film along.  Although as most of the other Harry Potter films, the running time pushes the two hour mark, information necessary to understanding the heavy ending is sometimes muddled.  The climax is perhaps the biggest change and culprit, resulting in a scene that could have much more emotional weight but becomes a typical Hollywood action finish.  Some characters like Dumbledore as well seem to have had their backstory cut in argument of overall running time when there were opportunities available to create much more full-rounded characters.  Perhaps the biggest oddity was the visual effects, which seemed off in terms of quality from the rest of the series.  Whether it was the massive battle scenes or the constant special effects required in a shorter amount of time, the visuals do not seem to always exhibit that same sheen as some of the other entries.  A sequence with the main characters on brooms escaping a room near the second half of the film is one instance of this occurring.

However, the overall film elevates above its strange film decisions to bring forth a fairly satisfying conclusion with its successful story arcs and emotive scenes.  The core plotline has usually been terrific and here, nearly all the questions and plotlines are successfully woven together to create some startling (for those that have not read the books) and candid revelations that do not disappoint.  Character arcs are well connected throughout the series as well as locales and objects that come into play finally in this finale.  On screen, it is remarkable to see it all come together and although nostalgia itself is not exactly a reason to adore a scene; Yates utilizes past events and locales smartly to evoke the same emotion into his actors.

And it is with great pleasure to watch so many actors reprise their roles for this finale, even if it is just for a line or a great scene.  Although only the devoted fans will recognize and remember every actors role in the past, bringing them altogether scene after scene showcases acting talent one after another.  The Harry Potter series has always thrived a lot on its wonderful (mostly) British acting cast, and they rarely disappoint here either.  It is a classy showcase of talent.  Aesthetically, all the nice window dressing is there as well from the same bombastic score to the costuming and cinematography.  Pacing as well is not as much of an issue once the film gets past its slower introduction.  The best quality about the film, however, is the emotive quality it brings.  When Yates gets the scene, the atmosphere, and the actors just in the right place, even the simplest scene with characters talking to one another for a good amount of time is wonderful.  The scene with Harry and the golden snitch in particular is remarkably done and although some of the background talk was cut, the exposition-heavy scenes that are still left are pulled off wonderfully.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Pt. 2 wraps up the series with some of Yates’ questionable overall directing quirks and odd visual effects; but overall, he creates an emotional and plot-closing finish that is well-intentioned.  Some oddities still remain from the past few films such as some strange framing issues and plot direction, but Yates wraps up Rowling’s original tale fairly well, propped by the same wonderful actors from before and great character moments with some great emotional scenes peppered throughout.  Although it is not my favorite throughout the series (nor is it the worst), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Pt. 2’s greatest achievement is summed up near the end of the film as Harry looks in the pensive and sees himself through the past years up to now.  The series’ greatest strength has been its fascinating world and relentless belief in its characters and plot arcs that are satisfyingly completed to fruitiona series that has literally grown up with its audience who will never forget the sorting hat, the broomstick, and the magical scar on an orphan boy’s head.  

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