Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy)
Blu-Ray Reviews | Nov 16th, 2011
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes, Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Matthew Lewis, Tom Felton, Warwick Davis, Julie Walters, David Thewlis, John Hurt, Robbie Coltrane
Written By: Steve Kloves
Directed By: David Yates
Studio: Warner Bros
Buy On Amazon.com
Harry Potter is finally done and it’s safe to say that every single movie in the series was highly enjoyable. As a hardcore fan of the books, I was disappointed in some direction that the books went, but in the end, it’s just nerdy nitpicking from me. The final movie is dark, excellent and exceeded my expectations.
When we last left the first part of The Deathly Hallows, Dobby saved Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna and others from Bellatrix Lestrange’s house but perished soon after. Voldemort found out that the Elder Wand will help him conquer the wizarding world. Cut to Part 2, Harry, Ron and Hermione figure out that the next Horcrux is at Bellatrix’s vault in Gringotts Bank. Soon after that, they head to Hogwarts to get more horcruxes. That’s when the battle of Hogwarts begins.
The Deathly Hallows and the Harry Potter series in general has definitely met my expectations. It’s extremely rare for a series to have this many movies, not to mention ones that are all pretty damn good! Every single HP movie I loved, some better than others. Some don’t really like the first two but I do. Knock Columbus but he’s the one who got this cast together, developed the look of the movie; as well as other things. But back to this movie…The Deathly Hallows ended the series very nicely and I really liked how the series just got darker with each movie. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint have just been perfect throughout the series. Besides the trio of actors that have grown up right in front of our eyes, the rest of the cast has been awesome as well. Alan Rickman gets the send-off he deserves. His scenes were without a doubt the best in this movie, and maybe in the entire series. Since there’s such a big cast, some people suffer for it with screen time like Hagrid, Lupin/Tonks, Professor McGonagall and others. One nice surprise was Matthew Lewis who plays Neville come into his own and really shine in the last half of the movie. The one scene with Michael Gambon as Dumbledore is another highlight for me, and makes me wished Dumbledore wasn’t dead. I still prefer Richard Harris as Dumbledore but Gambon certainly does that character very well.
Part 1 was a great road trip type of movie, and Part 2 was, for the most part, one of the most exciting movies in the series. We finally got a big battle, one that I’ve been craving for a long time. There still wasn’t a lot shown from it but I can see why the battle didn’t include more actions scenes from non-major characters. The focus was on Harry, and a few others. It would have been more dramatic to see some of the Hogwarts students/Order being killed instead of seeing it after the fact. Lupin, Tonks got screwed with screen time and so did Fred. There was so much more to Lupin’s story that wasn’t filmed or played in the movie. The whole side story of having a child with Tonks, and Lupin is thinking of running away should have been touched upon. We don’t even know they had a kid until he’s dead and talking to Harry as a Ghost. That was disappointing. I thought the epilogue was cute but kind of cheesy. There was no way of making it not cheesy but the only problem I really had was how dumb they made Ginny. Might as well put some Mom jeans on her and a Bon Jovi NJ haircut. Or maybe have them pull up with a Soccer Mom van that has a bumper stickers on it that says “My child is on the honor roll at Hogwarts” or “my other vehicle is my Nimbus 2000.”
You know Warner Brothers will be releasing ultimate editions and further editions of the movie and the series in the future. But this Blu-Ray has a few things worthwhile to watch. There’s a few additional scenes that I can’t really remember so they must not have been that great. Not much with Lupin or other people that were cut out that’s for sure. There’s a few quick featurettes on blowing up hogwarts, the goblins of Gringotts, the women of HP, and some fluff preview pieces for Pottermore and The WB studio tour in London. The best feature is actually an hour discussion between Daniel Radcliffe and J.K. Rowling. Daniel Radcliffe asks Rowling a bunch of questions about the story, characters, behind the scenes of writing, and other things like Dumbledore being gay. This was conducted I think before the movie came out but it’s still a nice piece to watch.
I’m sad Harry Potter is over and done with. Maybe Rowling will write some prequel or sequel to the franchise but who knows. Harry Potter is one of my favorite movie series and books as well. The Deathly Hallows Part II ends the series on a high note, but a sad one as well. At least I can have a huge Harry Potter marathon now!
Features:
Maximum Movie Mode – Blowing Up Hogwarts
A Conversation With J.K. Rowling and Daniel Radcliffe
The Goblins Of Gringotts
The Women Of Harry Potter
Additional Scenes
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
Pottermore Preview
Digital Copy Of Feature Film
Video:
Widescreen 2.40:1 Color
Screen Resolution:
1080p
Audio:
ENGLISH: DTS-HD MA 5.1
SPANISH: Dolby Digital 5.1
FRENCH: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
English, Spanish, French
Bottom Line: Harry Potter ends on a good note
Running Time: 130 mins
Rating: PG-13
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating:
