Dark and flavorful like a piece of English chocolate, the final episode in the J.K. Rowling series Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, creates a flavorsome blend of adventure and intelligence.
The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 begins where the first part left off with Lord Voldemort securing the Elder Wand in his quest to rid the world of Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe). The film quickly escalates into a battle royale between the wizarding forces or good versus evil. Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) play cat and mouse while Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger set out to destroy the seven Horcruxes, which will help them to defeat Lord Voldemort.
This final installment bears a somewhat uncanny resemblance to the Star Wars saga with Harry Potter taking on a Luke Skywalker role. Like Luke, Harry must deal with his own demons and finds out that more exists in life than the obvious fight between good and evil. The fight between forces sometimes delves into a grey area. The good often have bad elements and vice versa. Whether that bad takes over the good, or the reverse, brings out inner conflict, and a more interesting story.
Director David Yates (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1) keep the film crackling without letting it get too dumbed down with pure action as he allows his characters to sort through their inner demons as well as their fears of death. Yates takes time to instill flavorful elements of humor so that the dark often morose film stays in balance.
The film could have easily sunk into non-stop action with wands ablaze and carnage aplenty but Yates sidesteps that trap by maintaining the spirit of adventure while sustaining the smarts. Being truly English, the several characters often refer to things as being "brilliant" and although the film doesn't quite live up to brilliant status it does offer a pleasing conclusion to series about the young wizard.
