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| The theatrical poster to the film which marks the ending to the series. Release date on the poster may vary from country to country (the release date here in Singapore was a day before on 14 July). (Photo via wikipedia.org) |
It brought me back to how it all started. To how I come to be a Harry Potter fan by reading the books as well after watching the first film. The theme music from the first film which was played when the credits rolled in was a reminder of the more innocent times, of how like many in the fandom, we have come to grow together with the characters. But there has to come a time where the series has to end.
The film continues where it left off in the first part of the final instalment of the series, after the burial of the elf Doby. In what would become a theme for throughout the film until the aftermath of the grand battle of Hogwarts, the solemn marching of the Hogwarts students in the school compound before the start of the film would become the embodiment of how much the wizarding world has changed. Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and his determination to search for the remaining Horcruxes apart from those which were already destroyed in the first part of the final instalment, and Lord Voldermort’s (Ralph Finnes) ever-determination to finish Harry off by himself.
After burying Doby, Harry Potter manages to convince Griphook (Warwick Davies) of breaking into Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault at Gringotts after Griphook was convinced that he would get the sword of Gryffindor in return. Harry believes that a Horcrux lies in Bellatrix’s vault, which would turn out to be Helga Hufflepuff’s (who was one of the four Hogwarts founders) Cup. He then turned to Ollivander the wand maker, whom was also being rescued from Malfoy Manor from the first part of the final instalment, to identify the two wands that they took from there which Ollivander (John Hurt) later explained belonging to Bellatrix and Draco Malfoy, but Malfoy’s wand has changed its allegiance.
Using the Polyjuice Potion to disguise herself as Bellatrix with Ron being disguised as a random wizard and with Harry and Griphook who are under Harry’s Invisibility Cloak, they managed to breach the security at Gringotts. They nearly did not get to Bellatrix’s vault, but with the help of the Imperius Curse, they managed to get to the carts and onto the vault. After Harry managed to retrieve Hufflepuff’s Cup, Griphook took the sword and turned his back on the trio, with the trio fled by jumping onto the back of the dragon which was guarding the vaults earlier. During the escape, Lord Voldermort manages to enter Harry’s mind and has been learning that his Horcruxes have been discovered and destroyed. At the same time in the vision, Harry saw that the next Horcrux he needs to find and destroy is in Hogwarts itself and it belongs to another of Hogwarts founders in Rowena Ravenclaw.
When the trio arrived at Hogsmade, they were nearly being found out. But it was the owner in Abeforth Dumbledore (Ciarán Hinds), who is the younger brother of the late Albus Dumbledore, saved them. He had seemed to lose all hope in fighting Lord Voldermort, but Harry manages to change Abeforth’s mind in letting them reaching Hogwarts so that they may be able to find the Horcrux. Abeforth instructed the portrait of his younger sister Ariana (Hebe Beardsall) to find Neville Longbottom who leads the trio back to Hogwarts. But Harry’s Hogwarts return would eventually be found out by the new Hogwarts Headmaster in Severus Snape (Alan Rickman).
For those who have stuck with Harry and his friends since the very beginning (that means people like me), there are reminders of the past in the second part of the final instalment. The most evident is Hogwarts itself. It is a time when the wizarding world knows where their loyalty lies in the Battle of Hogwarts, a time when Neville Longbottom has really come onto his own. But even despite the gloomy theme which happens throughout most of the film which was expected, there are still spaces of moments which stand out for me. Harry’s confrontation with Snape at the Great Hall, the duel between Professor Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith) and Snape, and probably the most heart-warming moment for me came during when Harry was looking at Snape’s memories in the Pensieve, (the untold story of) Snape’s unrequited love for Harry’s mother Lily which was shown especially after she sacrificed herself to save her then-one-year-old son.
A fitting ending to the series, bringing an end to which the neutrals should like where the good triumphs over evil. Even if I don’t review it as a Harry Potter fan who first got onto the fandom after watching the first film, it is an ending which I still do like.
