Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 Blu Ray Review

Movie Review

The final chapter begins as Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) continue their quest of finding and destroying the Dark Lord Voldermort’s (Ralph Fiennes) three remaining Horcruxes, the magical items responsible for his immortality.  As the trio uncover the mystical Deathly Hallows, Voldemort finds out about their mission as the biggest battle erupts and life as they know it will never be the same again.

And now the end is near and so we face the final showdown!!! So the epic finale is finally upon us and it really lives up to the hype as being a great end to a franchise that has spanned ten years.  There is no “story so far” to kick off this film as we begin right where we left off in part 1 which for me was a little jolting, but the film eases you into it and soon things kick into gear and never let up till the very end.  Everyone is back for this last film, whether in glimpses or in full blown sequences, as characters past and present from the Potter verse are accounted for here.  It is a film with all the payoff as essentially it is the 2nd half of one movie.

The tension and emotion are ratcheted up to near impossible heights. From breaking into Gringotts to the siege of Hogwarts it never dissipates. People die, scores are settled and the ultimate showdown, between Harry and Voldemort, is fully charged with emotion and excitement!  As a non-Potter fan though, I would have liked the last film to have been just one movie. They could have trimmed both movies down to be a fantastic 3 hours affair that would have been amazing, as technically, this is the second half of the Deathly Hallows.  But in saying that, while Part 1 was all build up, this one is all payoff – not only for a movie but for a franchise and here it doesn’t disappoint.  Effects are mostly great but towards the end they do get a little dodgy with some green screen shots being very noticeable.

The cast are superb and have gotten better and better as the films progressed, although Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch) is still extremely annoying and such a bore.  The main trio all have moments to shine with Daniel Radcliffe finally becoming an actor you can believe in. Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have most of the comic relief this time out and, of course, we finally see their much anticipated first kiss!  Ralph Fiennes is electric here given that he’s been in the shadows for most of the previous movies. Here he shines as the diabolical Voldemort while Alan Rickman hams it up as usual but is pitch perfect as the emotional side of his character is finally revealed.

Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis) also gets his moment in the sun. He had been side-lined for most of the franchise but his role here is an heroic and daring one, while Seamus Finnegan (Devon Murray), the other Irish kid in the film, reappears with a flair for bomb making… are the makers trying to say something?  To go through the rest of the cast would be pointless but suffice to say that they all get a decent look in with some getting short changed, Bellatrix and the Weasley family, and others getting unnecessary added screen time, Dumbledore’s brother and Ollivander’s explanation of the wands to name but two.

The only bad point is while some moments have great emotional payoffs, others are either glossed over or have very little weight to them.  I think that because this is the shortest Potter movie, they could have added another 10 to 15 minutes onto it. The audience would not have minded and it would have explained things a little more thoroughly.

This is one that everyone will see just to see what happens but whether you’re a potter fan or not you’ll be greatly entertained and mesmerised!

Video Presentation

Simply put the dark, brooding visuals of ‘Deathly Hallows: Part 2′ in 1080p will blow you away.  For some reason, even though the two parts of the ‘Deathly Hallows’ were filmed at the same time, this part feels a tad more detailed.  It’s hard to not notice all the fine detail shining off the screen.  Just take a look at the faces of Harry and Voldemort at the end.  Dirtied and bloody, where each speck of mud and gunk is completely visible.  The ultra-close-ups of them reveal the tiniest pores, hairs, and dirt flecks.  The special effects this time around take on a life of their own.  The tiny, pulsating concentric rings of blue light that pulse forth from the students’ wands in the darkness are easily visible.  The movie is dark, full of unforgiving shadows, although these shadows never feature a bit of crushing.  They’re rich and deep, offering a wonderfully delineated picture that adds to the overall detail and look of the movie.  Colours, while a bit rare, are actually extremely vibrant whenever presented.  In short ‘Deathly Hallows: Part 2′ is one of the finest demo discs you’ll be picking up this year.

Audio Presentation

This thing is one bombastically charged ride.  Directionality is top-notch, from the wiz-bang action as spells zoom by in and out of frame to the distant crackle of Death Eater spells exploding on the shield above Hogwarts.  LFE is a constant force, from crumbling Hogwarts walls, to the stomping of angry giants the sub-woofer rarely gets a break from the action.  Surrounds are lively and active for the entire movie.  The battle scenes offer a wide variety of ambient noise as wizards, witches and students battle Death Eaters, enormous spiders, and giants.  You’ll be just as happy with the audio here as you will be with the visuals.  Everything about this disc screams demo quality.

Extras

The extras in this set are stunning for anyone to behold, check them out.

Disc 1 Extras

Maximum Movie Mode – As always Warner has outdone itself with its picture-in-picture commentary on the movie.  This is an extensive, exhaustive look inside the making of the film. Matthew Lewis (Neville) introduces the feature for us then we’re off to the races.  Producer David Heyman stops by occasionally to talk about the movie, but he’s a little stiff most of the time.  Warwick Davis (Griphook) comes on to talk about his role as the goblin who gets Harry and his friends into the vaults.  Other notables include Rupert Grint coming on to give us detailed backstories of what is going on, Emma Watson reciting word-for-word passages from the actual books, and VFX supervisors explaining how certain things were done.  It truly is an exhaustive look at the movie from the inside out.

Focus Points  – This is a collection of short featurettes that covers a variety of behind the scenes material.  The first is “Aberforth Dumbledore” which covers the transformation of actor Ciarán Hinds and how they made him resemble Michael Gambon.  There’s a costume featurette where costume designer Jany Temime discusses the way she designs the costumes based on the characters and script. Following that is “Harry Returns to Hogwarts,” which spotlights the scene between Harry and Snape in the Great Hall.  Something of note here is to see the actual warm lighting that was present when the movie was filmed, compared to the after-effect teal that was applied in post to give the movie a darker more sinister feel.  “The Hogwarts Shield” covers the CG creation of the force field created by the teachers at the school.  “Room of Requirement Set” shows the immensity of the actual set constructed of individual props.  “The Fiery Escape” covers the stunts performed by the actors during the great fire in the Room of Requirement.  “Neville’s Stand” not only discusses Neville standing up to Lord Voldemort near the end but it also goes over Neville’s evolution as a character, and we get some great insight into Ralph Fiennes’ acting process here.  Finally, “Molly Takes Down Bellatrix” features actresses Julie Walters and Helena Bonham Carter going at it on set during their witch duel to the death.

Pottermore – A commercial for the online experience called ‘Pottermore’ with J.K. Rowling teasing fans about even more ‘Potter’-filled fun.

Final Farewells From the Cast  – A few of the big name actors reminisce about the last decade working on these movies and many tears are shed.

Disc 2 Extras

Deleted Scenes – There are quite a few good scenes in this short six minutes.  Scenes that would have added a bit more to the movie and could’ve been used for some kind of director’s cut if possible. There’s a scene that explains much more about where Hermione got clothes that looked like Bellatrix’s.  There’s a scene that gives a better explanation about the mirror Harry has been carrying around all this time. Another extended scene with Aberforth that shows his deeper disdain he had for his brother.  And a comical scene where the Syltherin students are locked in the Hogwarts dungeon.

A Conversation with J.K. Rowling and Daniel Radcliffe – This is one of the best special features in this set.  Rowling and Radcliffe sit down with each other and candidly talk about their experiences with the story.  Radcliffe asks her questions like what bits of the movies is she mad that they took stuff out of the books, and what stuff she was annoyed they added in.  Radcliffe discusses his time working on the movies and how he was allergic to the Potter glasses at first.  There is so much more talked about in this nearly hour-long sit down.  It doesn’t seem like much editing was done as they continuously talk over each other just like they’re having a real honest discussion.  It’s quite revealing actually and allows you to get inside the head of Radcliffe and Rowling at the same time.

The Goblins of Gringotts – This is more, or less, a look at how the goblins for the film were designed and how they evolved from the very first movie up until now.

The Women of ‘Harry Potter’ – Rowling takes point here and talks about the pride she has in her strong female characters which she created for her books.  The actors are also interviewed and talk about their character’s motivations and how they tried to do Rowling’s story justice with their acting.

This is a stunning end to a mesmerising series of films, this set is just full of amazing video and audio pizazz plus some revealing  and worthwhile extras, a must for any film fan.

‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2′ is out to rent or buy on DVD and Blu Ray now.