After seven books, eight films, a theme park and loads of plastic toys, the Harry Potter franchise has made billions for Warner Brothers and a certain Ms Joanne Rowling. But to look at the pound signs and the immense amount of zeros on its creator’s bank balance is to miss the point. Harry Potter is a series that has connected parents with their children and those children with some of the most believable and enduring characters English literature has ever known.This final film, the second half of the last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is the best film of the series by far.
It is a triumph of cinematic talent, magnificent acting and serves as a memorable end to the series which started almost ten years ago. Since then, directors have changed and the tone has shifted to accommodate the increasing darkness of the story, consistent with the books. Chris Columbus made a sufficient director for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, but I hate to think what he would have done with this final effort. It would probably have been set to a strict ‘family movie’ structure and the feel of the whole things would be closer to Toy Story than the powerful energy David Yates has injected into the films. This film is the high the fans were waiting for – and it really was worth the wait
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II (2012), directed by David Yates, is released on blu-ray and DVD by Warner Bros Pictures, Certificate 12.
