Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2

To start on a humourous note, here is a letter that was doing the rounds yesterday. It read

Dear Mr. Harry Potter,
If I had taken 8 movies to kill the villain in my movie, I would have give the money back
Rajnikanth

8 movies and 10 years down the line after creating enough derangement amongst fans and generating euphoria like never been seen before amongst young & old alike and contributing new the English language through hilarious but useful spells such as Wingardium Leviosa or the more deadly Avada Kedavra and spawning the careers of 3 kids aged 11, 12 and 13 who have now grown upto being 21, 22 and 23 (what a mathematical genius I am) respectively Pottermania finally comes to a close – correction – pottermania can never die; the series has come to a close. Pottermania took the world by storm in the late 90s, moved into being a cult figure which was sought only by the geeks of the world and has now left a legacy for many many generations to come. Purists may debate if I were to compare J K Rowling to the evergreen Enid Blyton but that is what marketing has done to the field of writing and extended the same to movie making. The fact of the matter is that kids these days would rather swear by Harry, Hermione and Ron and would have no clue to who Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Tim were.

The last edition of the series will probably break all previous records of collections and earnings simply because it has been by far the most anticipated to date – thanks to the hype created around Harry Potters imminent death at the hands of Tom Riddle aka Lord Voldemort because the dark lord has got his hands on the Elder Wand. The movie takes exactly at the spot where Part 1 ended and continues with its dark cinematography. I get the concept of the deathly hallows guys but why would you want to make a movie primarily meant for kids into something that is so painful on the eyes. And in such a dark environment, the search for the remaining 3 Horcruxes (or should I say 4) starts with right earnest. Our 3 heroes break into Bellatrix Lestrange’s locker, talk to the ghost of Ravenclaw Tower, take the fight to Nagini (remember the hideous snake from the first part) and also take on Voldemort’s army in the bargain. All makes up for the right mixture of a wonderful way to spend your evening with family or friends. At the risk of sounding like a stuck record – maybe they could have added some light to the movie – just too damn dark.

The direction is as consistent as David Yates can get it to be. Considering that he has directed more Potter movies than anyone else (Chris Columbus -2 and one each for Alfonso Cuarón & Mike Newell), he would be – rightfully – under the skin of his character. The effects are as always fabulous but it is not at all mandatory to watch this or Part 1 in 3D and definitely not @ PVR (cant get enough of putting my request for lighter glasses). Wholesome entertainment as I had called for Part 1 also. Same score 7 on 10. Have a lovely Potter filled weekend folks!!!!

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi128621593/

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1

If it’s a Harry Potter movie one has to see it whether I write a review or not right? So I was wondering for all of yesterday about what I should be writing in this review. Tough one to decide. But after all of that, I thought, maybe I should tell you about a story within a story. They story of the deathly hallows.


Once upon a time, there were 3 brothers, The Peverell brothers, who were on a journey somewhere (didn’t pay attention :P) and they get to a river that is in spate. The river would have normally swallowed anyone who dared to pass but not the Peverells. They used their magical skills and built a bridge across the river. As they were crossing the river, they encountered someone who was extremely upset. Someone who is not very pleased about being cheated – DEATH. But contrary to what you expect, Death doesn’t kill them. The scheming person that he is, he offers them 3 wishes instead – one each only. None of them realize however, that it is a trap that Death is setting for them, to claim their lives at a later stage in their lives.

The eldest brother, Antioch Peverell asks Death to craft him a wand from Elder wood. He wants it to be the most powerful wand ever made. Wish granted. However, as he goes about defeating all his enemies, he is killed in his sleep by an envious adversary – Death Wins. The 2nd brother, Cadmus Peverell, asks Death to give him a stone that would help raise anyone from the dead. Armed with the stone, he goes back and tries to get the love of his life back. He does get her back but is unable to truly be with her. Distraught he commits suicide – Death Wins. The youngest of the 3, Ignotus Peverell, the most humble of them all asks death for a method which would shield him from everyone’s sight. He goes on to live a long fulfilling life and death is really not able to locate him thanks to a wish that was granted by death himself – ironic right. Nevertheless, years later, Ignotus finally welcomes death into his life after handing over the cloak to his son. Hence the sign of the Deathly Hallows as seen with Xenophilius Lovegood (Rhys Ifans) who tells our heroes the story.

Peppered with the search for the Horcruxes that would finally lead to the death of Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), the Legend of the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 makes a heady combination for not just Harry Potter lovers but for the population in general. David Yates is known only for directing the previous 2 editions of Harry Potter i.e. Half Blood Prince & Order of the Phoenix. But I guess he did go to film school and learn a thing or 2 about creating excitement in movies. The last but one edition of Harry Potter (thanks to the smart work of making it into a 2 part movie) is not your complete edge of the seat drama but it has its own thrilling moments. Some of them are quite scary. This one is definitely for the family all the way through. 7 on 10 like probably all Harry Potter movies to date.