Indeed, the building itself actually comes to life, with Professor McGonagall casting a spell that sends the school's silent stone sentries into battle. Jaw-dropping sequences abound, from a dazzling broomstick escape to a stunning footbridge explosion to a dramatic attack on Hogwarts' wand-generated force-field.
#Harry potter deathly hallows part 2 final battle movie#
The second half of the film is therefore one huge, long battle, the Potter franchise turning into a war movie on an epic scale. Harry, Ron and Hermione join the underground resistance at work at the school, and the stage is set for war, with the teachers and pupils preparing to take a last stand against the forces of evil. It's then back to Hogwarts for the final time, though it's no longer the happy, cosy refuge of previous instalments, but rather a Voldemort stronghold, with Death Eaters controlling the school, Dementors patrolling the perimeter, and the dastardly Severus Snape now headmaster. This hilarious scene is followed by a rollercoaster set-piece that owes more than a passing debt to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (and feels more like a theme park attraction than a sequence necessary to the plot) before a giant, fire-breathing dragon lights up the screen in one of the film's many stand-out moments. This spectacular sequence calls for Hermione to knock back the Polyjuice to disguise herself, which in turn allows Helena Bonham Carter to have a ball pretending to be Hermione pretending to be Bellatrix Lestrange. Their quest initially takes them to Gringotts Bank where, with the help of tricky goblin Griphook ( Warwick Davis, under a mountain of impressive make-up), they must pull off the most dangerous of heists. It therefore demands extensive prior knowledge on the part of the audience, but then again, if you are joining the story for the first time at Part 7.5, you must be a pretty strange Muggle.
Harry+and+Voldemort+face-off+for+the+final+time. The film hits the ground running, picking up where Part 1 left off, with Harry, Ron and Hermione hunting down the Horcruxes - items into which the Dark Lord Voldemort has embedded pieces of his soul - and the three Deathly Hallows, which "He Who Must Not Be Named" believes will grant mastery over death. Mercifully, it's a suitably spectacular finale to this most towering of celluloid achievements an emotionally draining journey into the heart of wizarding darkness, with battles fought, lives lost, and secrets uncovered that call into question everything that has gone before. 14 years on from the first book hitting UK shelves, a decade since the boy wizard made his debut on the silver screen, and over $6 billion in global box office takings later, the franchise finally reaches its conclusion with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2. And so the most ambitious and expensive undertaking in film history draws to a close.