I admit it; I am suffering from Post-Potter Depression. I have been a huge fan of the Harry Potter series since first sitting down and reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 2000. With the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two (HPDH2) in July, an eleven year love affair with dear Harry and his friends is now at an end for me.
As sad as I am, and feeling a bit pathetic that I’m actually admitting this, I can’t help but smile when thinking about Harry’s last run on the big screen. This was the first Harry movie filmed in 3D. I wasn’t particularly happy with this idea, but I should have known that the magic of Harry would never let me down, as I sat in awe and watched the characters I have grown to love seemed so close, I could almost touch them. Besides the coolness of 3D, HPDH2 was a well-made film that had just the right amount of darkness, humor, romance and fancy Hollywood tricks to keep everyone satisfied.
For seven films now, Harry and He Who Must Not Be Named have flirted with destiny, slowing being drawn to one another for their final showdown. And what a showdown it was! It’s one thing to picture in your head the fighting and the destruction that happens at Hogwarts while reading the last book, but it’s completely different to actually see it on the big screen. There is such a sense of chaos and terror during these scenes that the audience can’t help but be pulled in.
Can you imagine what those teachers and students were thinking in the moments before Voldemort’s attack and the fear they must have felt? Can you imagine the guilt that Harry must have been carrying with him, knowing that his friends would probably get killed because they were protecting him? That’s the true gem of this film because you do get all of those feelings and more.
The real joy of HPDH2 is watching Harry end a war that he did not start. He ended it not just for himself but for the people he has come to care about and for future generations of witches and wizards. I am sad for myself because Harry is gone but I know that his magic will never fade. Muggles will be reading about the boy who lived forever and always.