Blogtober Chapter 9: Always.

And just like that, it's over for the last time.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 (2011)
Blogtober Qualifications: Magic, dark lords, snakes, Warwick Davis (twice!)

*Spoiler warning for the entire Harry Potter series, including Part 1*

It all comes down to this.  Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has found the Elder Wand, the most powerful wand in existence.  Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) race to find the final horcruxes, as the forces of good and evil square off for the final battle.

And not everyone will make it out alive.

I won't bother discussing the acting or the characters, since it's mostly the same from last time.  I will say that the movie caused me to like a character I never liked in the books, so that was pretty nice.

So I guess that really just leaves the story, and like before it holds up very well in movie form.  There are, as always, certain things that I feel weren't properly translated from page to screen.  I'm not in the interest of decrying the movie based on what ultimately amounts to minor alterations.  One thing in particular, though, did stick out to me.  I won't spoil it, I'll just say that Harry's ultimate action regarding the Elder Wand was a letdown compared to that of the book.

I'll also say that this movie has a distinctly different feeling compared to the previous one.  Part 1 was, generally, quiet and introspective, with little bursts of action and noise, usually with bad things happening.  This one, on the other hand, is, more or less, action action action from start to finish.  There are still great moments of character growth and pathos, and nearly every long-running character gets a shining moment or two. There's also one several-minutes-long tearjerker of a sequence wherein we look at the backstory of one of the series' most mysterious characters.  These moments are great when they come, and I felt moved more than a few times.

The style of each part is distinct, but they don't clash.  Instead it's more like Part 1 builds to Part 2, as obvious as that might sound.  Both styles are good in their own way, and I thoroughly enjoyed both parts.  At the end of the day I think I prefer the more introspective feel of Part 1, but that is in no way a knock against Part 2.

So here it is, the thing I've put off for years: finishing the Harry Potter series again.  It didn't resonate with me quite as much as the book did, but I guess it never could have; it and I are different from what we were so long ago.

In the end, though, I'm glad I finally came back to see the end, and I enjoyed the ride all the way.  I don't know why I avoided it so much, maybe because of the finality of it all.  It's funny, though, because nowadays the whole franchise seems less and less like it will truly be ending anytime soon.  Harry's story may have come to a close, but there's still so many other stories to tell.  And I'll be happy to experience them.

Always.

Tomorrow we break from magic (and Earth altogether), and take a brief foray beyond the stars.  I'm interested to see what we find, but something tells me it won't be pleasant.

Until next time!

Current interests:

Listening - David Bowie: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)

Playing - Golf Story (2017)

Reading - Abe Sapien: Sacred Places (2015)

Watching - Thunderbirds Are Go! (2015)