So I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan. I've read all the books and seen the movies time and time again. I've been featured in the USA Today and my local newspaper for the series and just can't get enough. For this reason, it's so hard for me to say good-bye to something that's been a part of my life for the past 10 years. But alas, the time for good-bye has come as the last installment of the movie was released on Friday. I was one of the first in line to show up for the midnight release. And the first in line to see the movie later that same day in 3-D.
And I have to say....the movie did not disappoint!
SPOILER ALERT! Picking up where Pt. 1 left off, we see Harry saying his final good bye to Dobby, A Free Elf, and Voldemort locating the Elder Wand. After this, the movie picks up pace quickly and doesn't relent until the very end.
For those of you that have read the books, you already know the major characters that die. It's not surprise when they do so in the movie, but it's still quite shocking. For those who haven't read the books, well I did say spoiler alert, so now's the time to stop reading if you don't want me to ruin it. Of course I cried when I saw Fred's body and Tonks and Remus too. Even Snape's dying, and especially his memories, got me teary eyed. However, I have to say that the death which affected me the most was that of Lavender Brown. In the book, Hermione blasts Fenrir Greyback as he moves towards her and it says she was "feebly stirring". I don't believe the book ever goes back and resolves her storyline, but the movie shows Greyback tearing into her, at which point Hermione blasts him off of Lavender's body.
I'm not sure why this death affected me, she was such a minor character throughout the series. But maybe it's because she played a pretty significant part in the previous book as Ron's girlfriend. It really just tore me up to remember her character from that movie/book and then see her in this final movie dying and being fed on by Greyback. She was such a vivacious character, it was hard to see her defenseless body being torn into. It also broke my heart that it was Hermione who cast a spell to remove the werewolf, maybe because of the irony, but also because, at that time, Lavender was a classmate that had died fighting for the same thing Hermione was - she wasn't just Ron's ex.
As I haven't read the last book in a while, it was hard for me to recall the small details, but I felt that the more memorable scenes were kept intact and true to the book. McGonagall and Snape duel. Harry's family appears to him as he walks into the Forbidden Forest, prepared to die. Hagrid carries Harry out of the Forbidden Forest, which was emotional....and so on and so on.
I saw this movie at a drive in, which probably wasn't the best choice as the movie is pretty dark and it was hard to see quite a few scenes. The 3-D movie was fantastic, but I'm not sure if that's because it was in a theater, with bright color and excellent sound, or because it was 3-D. Just don't be like my brother and expect eye-popping effects - that's not what 3-D is used for in this film.
All in all, a GREAT movie and a fantastic way for this series to come to an end.
