HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS Pt. 2 : archive from 2nd August 2011.

All good things must come to an end and so it is with 'Potterdom' with the arrival of the final film instalment of the final book in this movie franchise that is derived from seven hugely successful J.K.Rowling books of one certain young up & coming wizard lad whose life we have charted through young adolescence to young adulthood. The first film hit our silver screens in 2001 with the arrival of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' as the young wet behind the ears wizard in training attends his first year at Hogwarts. Now ten years later Harry has grown up, has become more worldly wise in the ways of wizardry, has experienced more adventures and near death escapes than you could poke a wand at, and now the series culminates with 'HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS Part 2' which I saw last night.

Eight films, four different Directors, a combined production Budget of US$1.155B, a total combined global Box Office haul of US$7.723B, too many awards and accolades to mention and this final film ranks as the fourth most commercially successful film of all time with US$1.342 in worldwide take, and  a cast who largely remained unchanged for ten years. An amazing feat in film making history it would have to be said!

And so, with all that said 'HP7.2' is very much a fitting end to the long running saga. With a veritible who's who of the English stage & screen world every character comes out of the woodwork for a last hurrah and the film is richer for it. Continuing on from where Part 1 left off of course, Harry, Ron & Hermione have seen numerous adventures with the Death Eaters, the Snatchers and the Deathly Hallows as they follow their quest to destroy the Horcruxes which hold the secret to Voldemort's immortality.

As Harry's emotional connection to Voldemort steadily increases the necessity to destroy the Horcruxes becomes more real and more urgent. As the Dark Lord secures the Elder Wand and advances on Hogwarts for the final show down, the awesome threesome converge on their old school for one last time where they must stand against the foreboding dark forces who would rid the world of its rich wizarding heritage in favour of pure-blood domination of evil. Who will win the day . . . I think by now you know how this all plays out - together with the one-tenth of the global population who went to see this!

This final no holds barred offering is effects laden, has emotion, drama, action, spectacle and finally Ron & Hermione get it on amongst the Hogwarts rubble. Fast forwarding 19 years brings it full circle. All good stuff, and now it's time to watch them all back to back on your DVD or BluRay in the comfort of your own home.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-