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5/22/2022

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011) - An exhausting end to Potter's emo saga


Tousled hair and bloody-faced, Harry faces off with Voldemort on this dark poster for David Yates' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2

Voldemort is wounded but deadly, as Hogwarts has been overtaken by Snape, and Harry and Co. are out looking for the three Horcruxes and an end to the regime of terror of Lord Voldemort.


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is written by Steve Kloves (Flesh and Bone (1993)), adapting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007) by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997)), and directed by great English filmmaker David Yates (The Tichborne Claimant (1998)).

The final chapter is the darkest, almost solely black or greyish tinted emo-movie in the increasingly emo-pained Potter franchise. There are poorly edited action sequences (like a fight with a dragon) and self-importance lurking behind every corner here. Anything can more or less happen in Potter's universe, which is also co-responsible for making the story's evolution seem highly random. It is certainly packed with elements that are meant to be taken as wisdom, but which is actually almost entirely trite nonsense. (SPOILER One of the film's big reveals is that Snape has had a life-long crush on Potter's mother ... )

One can't help but rejoice that the Potter ordeals are now finally at an end, and there are also some supporting actors that are enjoyable, like Kelly Macdonald (Anna Karenina (2012)) as the ghost. But over-all the sensation caused by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is one of exhaustion.

 

Related posts:


The Harry Potter franchise: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010) - Harry's abysmally dour and long penultimate chapter

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) or, The Anemic British Teen Wizards Fly Again! 

2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

2007 in films - according to Film Excess 

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) - Yates enters the Potter-verse with series' best entry 

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) - Newell's overlong, on-brand 4th Potter adventure 

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) - Dangers lurk in Cuarón's overrated Potter chapter 

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) - Potter and Co. return for handsome if overlong first sequel

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone/Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) - Columbus lands new family franchise successfully

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 125 mil. $ (250 mil. $ shared cost for Part 1 and 2)

Box office: 1,342.3 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 10.73 times its cost)

[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 premiered 7 July (London) and runs 130 minutes. Daniel Radcliffe (Kill Your Darlings (2013)) was paid 33 mil. $ for his performance; Emma Watson (Noah (2014)) and Rupert Grint (Postman Pat: The Movie (2014)) were each paid 15 mil. $. Shooting Part 1 and 2 took place from February 2009 - June 2010 in England, including in London. The film was converted to 3D in post production as the first Potter film to be released in the format. The film opened #1 to a 169.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent 2 more weekends in the top 5 (#2-#4), grossing 381 mil. $ (28.4 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Japan with 124.3 mil. $ (9.3 %) and the UK with 117.2 mil. $ (8.7 %). It set opening day and weekend records, was the year's highest-grossing film and Warner Bros. highest-grossing film to date, - and the highest-grossing in the Potter franchise. It was nominated for 3 Oscars: Best Art Direction, lost to Hugo, Visual Effects, also lost to Hugo, and Makeup, lost to The Iron Lady. It won 1/4 BAFTA nominations, an AFI award, was nominated for a Grammy, won 2 National Board of Review awards and several other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, translating to 3 notches over this one. IMDb's users have rated the film in at #187 on the site's Top 250 list, sitting between Before Sunrise (1995) and In the Name of the Father (1993). The-numbers.com report that it has also made more than 157.7 mil. $ on home video copies domestically alone. Yates continued with the spin-off series Fantastic Beasts which so far spans 3 movies (2016; 2018; 2022, all by him.) Yates first returned with Tyrant (2014, TV-series) and theatrically with The Legend of Tarzan (2016). Radcliffe returned in The Woman in Black (2012); Watson in My Week with Marilyn (2011); and Grint in Ed Sheeran: Lego House (2011, music video) and theatrically in Into the White (2012). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is certified fresh at 96 % with an 8.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]


What do you think of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2?

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