A Statement before we begin –
tytdreviews.com/2026/01/03/a-word-on-j-k-rowling/

And with that, we’ve reached the end of the original film adaptation of the ‘Harry Potter’ films, and its realistically probably the best way this slightly wonky hodge podge of a series could have closed out.

The plot here picks up literal moments after the end of the first part, and what follows, is essentially, a series of large scale action vignettes as the gang try to do a raid on Gringotts bank, followed by breaking BACK into Hogwarts to look for the final Horcrux’s, leading to a final battle between Voldemort and the Death Eaters, and the students and staff of Hogwarts.

Really, this is less a 3 act movie and more just two massive action scenes with occasional lore dumps and pathos sequences. but plot wise, I kind of think it probably does the best with the material its been given as it possibly could really…or rather, given the setup theyd had to this point, I think what was cut out of the plot or changed wasnt problematic enough to completely throw the thing off.

I think the film keeps a relatively good pacing across the runtime, though it is a bit on the slow side at times, to the point that I did begin to drift into my phone in places, in part due to familiarity, and in part due to an ongoing issue I have wherein prolonged action scenes/fight scenes just end up kind of getting a bit dull and repetative for me.

I feel like they round off most of the characters stories fairly effectively, theres some half decent twists and turns. And while, like the last film, it is a shame that the extended cast of characters arnt quite as bedded in as the earlier films, they do get quite a bit more screen time here, which is better than nothing I guess.

The finale itself? is a tad anticlimactic, made all the more iffy by a post story time skip sequence (which I wont get into here…but it does rather take the wind out of the sails of the production). I feel like it probably did the best it could to translate what was a quite involved passage in the books to the screen, but I think they maybe oversimplified it a little too much, leaving it just a bit on the flat side really.

On a technical level? we actually see a few wobbles here, which was surprising, broomstick sequences looked terrible compared to when its been handled in previous entries, theres definitely an overuse and misuse of CGI in this entry, generating some frankly bizarre and low quality imagery, and the CG doesnt really mesh all that well into the live action sequences. It very much felt like they hadnt quite finished polishing the effects up for this half really…as mentioned, it comes to something when effects here look worse than effects from the 2nd or 3rd film in places.

Direction and cine wise, its fine. its about on a par with the first film, though with a lot of the shoot being studio based, it does rather make this entry feel a little pokey and smaller budgeted than the previous films. Part one was FILLED with sweeping location shots and panoramic views. Part two has a couple of moments like that, but a lot of it is CG generated and feels a bit lifeless as a result. Not helped by the fact that, the aesthetics they cultivated 5 films ago at this point, have now fully cannibalised themselves, leading to an overly dank, border pastiche of the kind of style they were trying in earnest from ‘Goblet’ onwards.

Otherwise though? its a big budget studio picture, it looks find, the edits solid, the creative vision is in line with the other entries in this series…it all just feels a little overly safe on that front though. Which is a bit of a shame.

Performance wise, Maggie Smith really shines here for me, and the core cast get probably their finest moments in the series. But other than that, its all rather flat again. Actors just going through the motions, paycheque motivated, but little else. I think a big hinderence at this point is that the story has shifted the narrative to the Trio predominantly, meaning all these wonderful characters cultivated over the last 7 books are relegated to abrupt ‘Bursting in’ moments that last a couple of minutes at most. Or a border non speaking background role. Ron, Hermione and Harry were pretty much always the least interesting characters in this series, and to collectively, spend nearly 5 hours in there company in these finale films is almost chronically teetering on the insufferable. Its kind of unavoidable really because thats how the books go too…but I feel like we really missed out on some great final turns from this cast because off it.

And the soundtrack feels like a ‘greatest hits’ at this point. Its good, but its SO so tired…

All in all? I struggle to muster solid enthusiasm for ‘Deathly Hallows Part 2’ or the complete ‘Deathly Hallows’ as a closer for this series. Apart, we have an opening part that feels positively glacial and could be used to treat insomnia, and a second part that feels weirdly isolated and struggles to realise its best interpretations. Combined? this is border insufferable.

What I will say, is between these final two films, the heart of the series still feels like its ticking away somewhere in the background, the vibe that runs across all of these films, keeping them consistently (if not vaguely) tied to each other. Deathly Hallows 2 may not be my favourite entry in the series, but it closes things off in a way that wasnt terrible, and I do feel if push came to shove, that I wouldnt dislike watching it again. I absolutely couldnt recommend this film, or the series at large having rewatched them all now. But it was kind of nice to go back through these films 25 – 15 years on and see how the series was able to captivate people back then. I get it…even if it isnt necessarily for me.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-part-2/