Film: Harry Potter 7

Harry Potter by: J.K. Rowling

The latest Harry Potter film picks up where the last left off: Voldemort has just recovered the Elder Wand from Dumbledore’s grave, while Harry, Ron and Hermione plan their next move in Shell Cottage. They theorize that the next Horcrux- a series of items which hold a part of Voldemort’s soul- is in Gringotts, a bank where the only even remotely successful robbery so far resulted in the theft of nothing. Factor in the fact that said Horcrux is in the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange- Voldemort’s most devoted and deadly follower- and it becomes nigh-impossible. All of this leads up to a final battle in Hogwarts- A battle that takes up the bulk of the film.

What always makes a Harry Potter film enjoyable is the balance between drama and comedy. Even in this- the darkest of the series- there are moments of comedy and- by and large- they feel natural. Even the usually stern Professor McGonnagal has her moment, joyfully remarking how she’d always wanted to cast a particular spell which brings an army of statues to life. These moments do an amazing job of relieving the tension.

Simultaneously, it’s also the saddest of the eight films. Beloved and hated characters die left, right and centre and- while their deaths will come as no great surprise to those who have read the books- still have the same effect.

The acting is impressive, with Matthew Lewis, Alan Rickman and Emma Watson standing out. Helena Bonham-Carter once again displays her skills to amazing effect, and in this film she plays both as Bellatrix and, briefly, Hermione, and inhabits both roles perfectly.

The weakest point in the film- as with Part 1- is deviations from the books: One glaring example is the mirror which was introduced in the fifth book, but suddenly appeared in Harry’s possession in the seventh movie. Rather than coming up with a new escape from Malfoy Manor which wouldn’t require a mirror, they instead bring it up again with a lazy explanation that the mirror belonged to Sirius and leave it at that.  Other minor inconsistencies- such as characters the year above Harry being Hogwarts students- are distracting, but ignorable.

Despite this, this is probably the best of the Harry Potter films, and a fitting finale to the series.