Was it really ten-years ago that a fantasy film based on a book about wizardry and the fight against good and evil introduced the world’s cinema going audience to an eleven year old boy called Harry Potter? Until 2001 nobody had ever heard of Quidditch or even knew what a Muggle was, unless of course you were one of the millions of people who had read the J.K. Rowling books. I must admit I only read the first one and then just waited for the films to come along. Yeah I know I’m lazy.

Now in July 2011 the eighth and final instalment of Harry Potter has been the most eagerly awaited cinema experience since...actually, I can’t think of a film that’s had this much of a following for this length of time. The film has already broken all box office records in its opening weekend.

In Deathly Hallows Part 1, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) were searching for the five remaining pieces of Horcruxes that hold parts of Lord Voldemort’s soul and destroy them. In Deathly Hallows 2 they are still searching for three of them but without getting bogged down with an unnecessarily long camping trip in the woods.

This final instalment of the franchise picks up where Part 1 ended. Our heroic threesome is hiding out in Shell Cottage beach house where Harry makes a deal with the Goblin Griphook to smuggle them into the Gringotts Wizarding Bank. This is so that they can sneak into the personal vault of Bellatrix Lastrange (Helena Bonham Carter) where Harry suspects a Horcrux is hidden. From this point on the action doesn’t let up. There’s a fantastic chase sequence in metal mining carts that run on railroad tracks that loop through the air inside a giant underground cave, it kind of puts you in mind of a theme park rollercoaster ride (Hmm! funny that.)

It’s not long before Harry and co. return to Hogwarts where they are joined by most of the regular members of the Order of the Phoenix (a real who’s who of British acting talent) to make the final stand. Professor McGonagall (Maggie Smith) comes in to her own and acts like a general in battle and organises the defences of the castle as if it were Roukes Drift and even Mrs Weasley (Julie Walters) kicks some ass in a nod to Aliens 2. It’s also nice to see that the long suffering buffoon Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis) gets his moment of glory at last.

The final battle scene is superb and worthy of the famous Helms Deep clash in The Two Towers . Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) unleashes the full power of Dark Forces with Death Eaters, Dementors, Snatchers and Trolls raining down on a battered Hogwarts. This final chapter is certainly much darker than any of the series that we have seen to date and I noticed that as the HP series progressed, the storylines started to include a higher level of danger and suspense. This has resulted in the film certification to creep up from a PG in the first two films to a 12 for the Goblet of Fire and finally to a 12A from Order of the Phoenix right up to Deathly Hallows Part 2.

Daniel Radcliffe has come on in leaps and bounds as an actor since his Harry Potter debut and is more than capable of holding this film together with an air of authority. Director David Yates does a great job in keeping the momentum going and and takes the audience through a whole range of emotions from excitement and suspense to tears and laughter. However, I’m not so sure about the decision to make this film a 3D experience as this is probably the last thing that the film needs to enhance it. If anything it can distract you from what is a visually stunning spectacle. My tip would be go and see it in 2D for a first time viewing.

And finally. I’d like to see Ralph Fiennes nominated for an award for creating one the silver screens most evil baddies,Lord Voldemort . He rarely gets a mention and seems to hide from the limelight while the plaudits fall the other cast members.

This is my film of the year so far and in the words of Ron Weasley, it’s ‘Bloody brilliant!’

Five out of five

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