It's weird to look back at 2001 and imagine what exactly has resonated with us from that time. There isn't much that to this day has continued and managed to remain as viable as the Harry Potter series. True, the books convinced a generation of kids to read, but the movies earned hundreds of millions, became throwaway references, and every few years, a skit on Saturday Night Live.
To say the least, the Harry Potter movies have surpassed the general consensus of the books in the phenomena. True, it's kind of sad, but it's also pretty impressive to recall that these movies started in 2001 and somehow still remain viable sources of successful entertainment.
Thus, the inclusion of the tagline "It All Ends" seems kind of fitting, though a little pompous. JK Rowling has admitted to servicing the fans with Pottermore and there's no doubt I can turn on Family Guy this fall and see a Deathly Hallows reference (poorly done). It doesn't end, which is essentially the goal that 10 years of phenomena has tried to achieve, yet surpassed even the smart brains of Hermione Granger.
The question is, does it deserve the hype? True, the movie is the last, but how many movies have gotten "The Final Chapter" pretext only to lie to us (Friday the 13th? Shrek?). To be honest, the movies have a fair share of ups and downs, resulting in varying quality. For the most part, I found them just to be servicing fans and leaving little in terms of drive or enjoyment. Would it end the same way?
Oddly enough, after a lackluster Deathly Hallows: Part I, the series gets one of those rare jolts of energy that literally saves the overall franchise for me. Somehow, over the course of those 130 minutes, I just began to feel something for those characters I thought itself was fiction. I cared about everyone in the cast and wanted them to succeed.
How can this be? For starters, I think it may be noted this is likely due to the fact that after movies of exposition and soap opera-level reveals, it was finally time to do what we've been setting up since book one: kill Voldemort!
With exception to the horcruxes, this was all that movie had to do. There was no need to discover who the Half Blood Prince was or watch Cedric Diggory bite the dust. This was essentially the revenge movie that could've easily summed up the 8 movies. True, it helped to see the terrible carnage that Voldemort left, but it didn't transfer well to celluloid for me. My imagination created that so well.
And yet... when Voldemort and the cast of Hogwarts students finally faced off, I felt the intensity rise. The score was amped on school pride (playing on old John Williams numbers) and watching every book somehow incorporated made this seem like the ultimate build-up of karma.
It's true, there are numerous other side plots, including a big reveal from Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) that manages to pack an emotional punch, but somehow director David Yates managed to do the impossible and turn this into a war film with wizards that was actually very compelling and full of the stock characters we have grown to love.
By the end, I was won over the movie, a trend that for 10 years had been defined by a sense of underwhelming sighs. More than anything, this movie succeeded in being a great conclusion in character reveals in time of war as well as helping to make this one of the benchmark movies for this generation.
It's impressive that something preceded by mediocrity could've won me over so easily. They were finally heroes in their own story, and they were accompanied by a decent plot with balls out battles and effects. However, when all was said and done, it was sad to see what Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) had fought for. It was a beautiful send off to know Harry was now at peace.
So, with a cast of hundreds of interesting characters now gone, is it all over? About as much so as the Back to the Future phenomena is. It may simmer out, but the references will still be noticeable by iconography alone. These actors will undoubtedly be defined by these roles, no matter how much better they'll get. Of course, it's not a bad thing to be remembered for: earning billions, maintaining coherent stories and quality, and essentially bringing hope to millions in ways that will be hard to replicate in the future.
For me, the books will always be better, but having sat through what is arguably my favorite of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II manages to transcend from being just a blockbuster to packing emotion, summing up the appeal of the entire series, to just being a reminder that these characters will not be at a theater near you next summer and that fans should cherish these moments.
The series essentially was about growing up (minus puberty), and I was there from the beginning. True, I didn't care much for them, but when sitting in that room, the fascination that every character evolved to be heroes or cowards was like watching the fantasy version of my life play out in real time. I kind of wish I cared more, but then again, realizing I unintentionally did made the end all the more sad and memorable.
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