Deathly Hallows Part 2: My Reaction

Yesterday afternoon I saw the final (I think) Harry Potter movie The Deathly Hallows Part 2. Already knowing how it would essentially turn out, I was interested in seeing the cinematic presentation as well as how the movie diverged from the book.

For the most part, the movie dovetailed quite well with the written account, although there were a few "forks" taken. And I understand why these happened: it was much the same way that those making Lord of the Rings into film changed the plot progression around to draw the main characters together in climactic scenes and to achieve the greatest dramatic effect. The Rings filmmakers changed Tolkien's written story way too much, though, but the Potter folks were much better at staying true to Rowling's writing. So I'm not at all unhappy with the movie.

Alan Rickman was very, very impressive with his final role as Severus Snape, the former Dark Arts professor who always seemed to have it in for Harry. In The Deathly Hallows he has been installed by the archvillain Voldemort to be the Hogwarts School of Wizardry's headmaster, succeeding beloved Albus Dumbledore. But as author J.K. Rowling has shown a penchant for in her writing, not all is as it seems. And this final installment shows both Snape and Dumbledore to be much more complex (and therefore real) than they had been painted to be. And I liked that.

I recommend the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, but only to those who have kept up with the story. If you haven't, you would be completely lost in the middle of the fast-paced action and would miss out on the significance of many background, transient events that would be meaningful only for those "in the know".

Now it's on to the other movie: Winnie the Pooh. I don't know how many people want to accompany me to see this one, though...