Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

SPOILER ALERT: If you have not read the Harry Potter novels or haven't seen the last movie, read no further.

I went to Regal Brandywine on Friday and finally saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.  Had this not been a sequel, I would easily give it the Academy Award for Best Picture.

There was no "Previously, on Harry Potter..." and the film opened where the last one left off, with Voldemort in possession of the Elder Wand.  The movie then cut to the beach house where Harry, Hermione, and Ron were staying.  Before allowing us into the house, though, Dobby got his due with a picture of his grave in the beach.

He had been slain by Bellatrix at the end of the last movie.  He was one of the many who died in

Harry Potter's quest to defeat Lord Voldemort, or He-who-must-not-be-named.  But as Hermione aptly pointed out in the second film, "Fear of the name only increases the fear of the thing itself."  In true to the book fashion, however, it is not long before Harry strikes a deal with Griphook the troll to enter Gringott's bank to obtain one of the final Horcruxes, which are items used to contain a wizard's soul should the split it.  They are a part of the Dark Arts, and theoretically increase a wizard's chances of becoming immortal. 

Hermione disguises herself as Bellatrix and enters Gringott's in the hopes of obtaining this horcrux, but is almost immediately discovered as a fraud by the head troll guarding the vaults. 

However, Harry, from under his invisibility cloak, uses the forbidden Imperius curse to control the troll so that they let him into the vault.  After they enter the bowels of Gringott's and obtain what they want despite the multiplying enchantment placed upon the vault causing everything bumped into to multiply exponentially, they get what they want. However, Griphook goes back on his word and closes the vault behind them.

After a quick "reducto" spell by Hermione,  they break out of the vault and battle security forces for a short time.  Once Hermione again tells them to hop upon the dragon guarding the vault, they escape.  Determined to get to Hogwarts, they surreptitiously enter Hogsmeade under the cover of night, only to be almost discovered by the howling cat sounds that alert the dark wizards to their presence. 

However, Aberforth, Dumbledore's brother soon helps them into his pub.  After a brief discussion he reveals that the portrait of his sister on the wall is actually a tunnel to Hogwarts.   After my favorite character, Neville Longbottom returns to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione, they all begin their quest into the heavily defended Hogwarts in order to find one of the last horcruxes, the diadem of Ravenclaw. 

Chaos ensues, and the Battle for Hogwarts has begun.  The  Diadem is found through the help of the ghost of Helena Ravenclaw, and it lies in the Room of Requirement.  Hermione, Ron, and Harry go into the room at various times and Harry finds it; however, this is not before Draco and his henchmen Crabbe and Goyle come into the room to fight Harry.  After setting the room on fire to smoke them out, all find themselves in danger.  Harry, Ron, and Hermione grab broomsticks and begin to fly out, but not before saving Draco.  Once out, Harry destroys the horcrux and yet another part of Voldemort has been destroyed. 

Upon regrouping, Professor McGonagall begins to help protect Hogwarts in order to delay Voldemort's impending rush to seize the school and kill Harry Potter.  The protection fails but delays the army long enough and bloodshed begins.  Everyone does their best to defend the school but body after body piles up in a bloody wizarding war pitting evil versus good in the ultimate battle.  Voldemort is weakened and the movie cuts to him talking to Professor Snape .  Voldemort interrogates the potion master because he senses the elder wand does not belong to him.  Voldemort then kills him in cold blood and walks away.  Harry rushes up to Snape who is crying, but in Potter world tears of the dying represent the last thoughts.  Harry grabs these tears, puts them in a bottle, and brings them to the pensieve to interpret them.

As it turns out, despite Snape's purported hatred for Harry that has been "evident" throughout the film and books, is revealed to be a front.  Snape has never turned completely to the dark side of the wizarding world, and his love for Harry's mother, Lily, is made clear.  Lily's love saved Harry the night that Voldemort, and it turns out Snape's love for her was just as fierce, even though they never married or dated.

Through Snape's memories, Harry learns that he must die in order to save the others.  However, he is unable to die, but Voldemort does not know this.  Harry meets Voldemort and allows him to kill him with the forbidden Avada Kedavra curse.  Harry is then thrust into a white world, a train station as he calls it, where he meets Dumbledore once more. 

Dumbledore explains to Harry that Harry has done the necessary to save the wizarding world from Voldemort, but at the end tells Harry that everything he sees is in his head.  Flash back to Harry's "lifeless" body.  Narcissa Malfoy runs over to confirm that Harry is dead but sees that he is breathing.  She realizes that Harry is invincible and simply asks him if her son Draco is alive.  He nods, and she lies to Voldemort and says that Harry is dead. 

Hagrid carries Harry's body back to Hogwarts and Voldemort returns, "triumphant."  It is sadness all around as everyone mourns Harry's "death,"  and in the ensuing second scuffle Harry leaps up and no one can believe what they have just seen.  Harry Potter truly is the boy who lived. 

The snake is the last Horcrux, and Ron and Hermione try to use basilisk fangs to kill it but they are unsuccessful. 

However, Neville gains the sword of Gryffindor and decapitates Voldemort's snake and horcrux, Nagini, and saves the day.  Voldemort is destroyed and the saga concludes.  Not without an epilogue, the movie cuts to 19 years later when Ron and Hermione, Harry and Ginny are bringing their children to Platform 9 and 3/4, where it all began, to send them off to Hogwarts.  Even Draco, despite his trespasses against the wizarding world, is there to see the Hogwarts Express go on another journey. 

I know that this was a cursory summary and I skipped over a lot, but I just wanted to convey what a great movie it was and that no matter what, good always defeats evil, no matter how dire circumstances may seem.  Happy reading and felix felicitas.