FINAL HARRY POTTER BEST OF SERIES

HARRY POTTER AND THE

DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2

Starring Daniel Radcliffe,

Ralph Fiennes,

Alan Rickman,

Emma Watson,

Rupert Grint,

Helena Bonham Carter,

John Hurt,

Warwick Davis,

Michael Gambon

Directed by David Yates

Written by Steve Kloves

Based on the novel by J.K. Rowling

Running time 130 mins.

Rated PG-13

          It isn’t just the best movie of the year so far, it’s the standout entry in the most financially successful movie franchise ever. Now the inevitable 24-hour marathon screening of all eight films has its showstopper.

          Treading carefully so as to give nothing away, suffice to say that what is unique in literature holds true for film. There’s just nothing else like the level of detail that J.K. Rowling has provided with the books. And although no film can capture the sweeping scope of the stories, the filmmakers have so much to work with, the audience’s emotional investment compounds exponentially with each successive film.

          With, perhaps, the exception of the first part of “Deathly Hallows,” which came out last November. Not a bad movie by any stretch. More like the calm before the storm. Part 1 is to “The Two Towers” what Part 2 is to “The Return of the King.” In more ways than one.

          Unlike the previous entries, this last one is the only Harry Potter movie to offer 3D. Mixed feelings on that score. First of all, the price is bumped. For the extra bucks one pays, the experience should be commensurately upped. And I don’t think it is. As good as this new digital system is compared to the old 3D, it’s not without its problems. The glasses are intrinsically distracting; even digital 3D just flat out doesn’t look all that 3D, and the glasses darken the screen too much. Truth is, it’s a gimmick to make the industry more money. I don’t think we benefit from the experience nearly as much as they do.

          But at least with this movie there’s an option. Some of the show times are in 3D, and some aren’t.

          Very much to the good, in keeping with the series, the special effects do serve the story, and not the other way around. If we didn’t care about the characters, all of the special effects wizardry would mean nothing. But care about them deeply we do. They are our movie friends. A lot of them we practically raised.

          Upshot: Harry (Radcliffe) has to find the three Horcruxes and get Voldemort (Fiennes) before Voldemort gets him.

          And along the way we have so many plot lines to resolve, so many loose ends to tie.

          If you’ve never read one of the books, as a filmgoer you might even be better off with less expectations to be dashed. And if you’ve never seen any of the seven other movies, don’t worry about that. Things get recapped nicely.

          It says a lot about a movie when you can’t say much about it at all out of sheer respect for the experience. It’s an emotional time, attending a summer blockbuster. But the good news is, J.K. Rowling is such a writer, it seems highly unlikely that we’ll have to go too long before she pulls another trick out of her sleeve. And when the movie is made of whatever she’s writing now, we shouldn’t be too surprised to find our Hogwarts friends all growed up, and, as an added selling feature, cast in wildly different roles.