Opening night of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Photo credit: VeganBakeSale, http://www.flickr.com/photos/veganbakesale/5949958022/in/photostream/
The final installment of the final Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, blew away several box office records this past opening weekend: The eighth and, according to MTV News, “best reviewed” of the Potter films took home a blistering $168.5 million in North America, putting it above The Dark Knight and Spider Man 3.
It’s really the end: Daniel Radcliffe (Harry) wants to get some tattoos, Rupert Grint (Ron) says he won’t be retiring, and Emma Watson (Hermione) is starring in a “risqué” coming of age drama, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. They’re all grown up!
The chances, therefore, are pretty good that you or someone you know went to see the film this weekend. So, in that case: What did you think? We’re not the only ones asking these days – several entertainment blogs are taking to the Internets to dish about their HP:DHP2experience and to ask their readers what they thought. And be warned: There may be some spoilers here.
Potter fans at the opening night of Deathly Hallows 2. Photo credit: VeganBakeSale, http://www.flickr.com/photos/veganbakesale/5949958022/in/photostream/
- A ‘fitting finale’, but better in 2-D. Whitney Matheson, writing at USA Today’s Pop Candy blog, found it a “fitting finale” to the franchise and even better than Part 1, particularly every scene featuring Helena Bonham Carter, who plays baddie Belatrix LeStrange, and especially her “dead-on Hermione impression”. It was also emotional: Matheson got teary-eyed – and she didn’t even see the film in 3-D: “I took Pop readers’ advice and didn’t see them in 3-D. I’m happy to report the movie looked great, and I didn’t leave the theater with a headache.”
- ‘Let’s get emotional!’ Taking the opportunity to gush – literally – Mandi Bierly at Entertainment Weekly’s PopWatch blog recalled all the points that made her cry in the film: Harry’s final walk into the Forbidden Forest with the Resurrection Stone; his last scene before he does so with Ron and Hermione; Snape’s memories. And chills? Bierly had a few, but her last came at “the end of the epilogue, when the train to Hogwarts departs and we see the 9¾ platform sign”. She explained, “It wasn’t just that the film — and franchise — was coming to a close, it was that Hogwarts and all it stands for still exists.”
- You need to see it. “Make no mistake: despite whatever flaws Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 may have (and it certainly does have a few), director David Yates has brought the series home in an absolutely beautiful finale,” Terri Schwartz cheered at MTV.com. “Every actor in the franchise steps up their game, and nearly every beloved character gets their due in this movie. Really, is there anything more a viewer could ask for?” Among the reasons she gives is that this really is it, in a bigger sense: “This really is the end of a generation. Many millions of fans (myself included) legitimately grew up alongside Harry Potter, and so the true finale of this franchise is a sad day indeed.”
- Will Oscar ignore Harry again? Previous Harry Potter films barely warranted acknowledgment from the Academy (nine nominations, usually for visuals and make-up, no wins), but Joal Ryan, writing at UK E! Online wondered if this might the year. Not only has the box office reception been tremendous, but the critical reception has been significant as well – the film currently enjoys a 97 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Ryan, however, compared the movie to the “last film to burst out of the gate (nearly) as big and acclaimed” was Batman reboot The Dark Knight, which did not receive a Best Picture nomination. But, added Ryan, “the ailing Hollywood of today owes the boy wizard more than the booming Hollywood of 2008 owed the Caped Crusader….So, yes, it’s plausible, if not possible: Potter has one more trick up his sleeve.”
Still can’t get enough Harry?
- The end of an era?
- Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – the reviews are in
- Pottermore: J K Rowling embraces digital
- Trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
