Sorry, I wasn't being clear. "this" means my emotional state during the movie. Toy Story 3 affected me so much, and to a lesser extent, so did HP7.2 (because I read it and knew the story already).

Great movie. Really makes Part 1 look pointless and disposable though.

Now that I've seen all of the Harry Potter movies, it's becomes more clear than ever now that the first two (Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets) stand out as weak links. From movie #3 onward, there appears to be a single vision (even with three different directors).

JB has harped on this a number of times, but it's clearer than ever that the first two movies, while entertaining, feel like "kid movies" and have a lot of scenes that don't advance the story but were included just to make the fans happy.

I disagree that the first two are the weak links. Chamber of Secrets, in fact, is my favorite Potter flick.

This movie was alright. But I think it's been overpraised. Shame, really. Put Parts 1 and 2, trim the fat and you could have had a GREAT epic 3 hour finale to this franchise. As is, it's fairly solid though very flawed.

This has NOTHING on Return of the King, comparing it to another popular fantasy franchise. Return of the King was a truly worthy finale. It gave equal to weight to just about all of the main characters, the deaths truly meant something and it all came together extremely satisfying and thrillingly.

This is a 3 star movie. Return of the King is a 4 star movie.


Star Wars also ended better. And by Star Wars I mean BOTH trilogies. The prequel ones too.

I registered just to express my disbelief at this comment.

Yeah, I found that comment surprising also. This movie is definitely a better finale than Return of the Jedi was and stands on par with The Return of The King and The Revenge of the Sith. I have already seen it twice and will most definitely be catching it one more time next weekend before waiting for the entire box-set to be released on Blu-Ray.

I would probably give it full marks. Steve Kloves has worked hard to include all the important sequences from the book. The only missing aspects are Dumbledore's backstory and the healthy conversation between Harry and Voldemort before the final confrontation. I found the latter to be my only gripe with the film. Its presence in the book gave a certain sense of closure to the war between them with Harry explaining why he is better than his adversary. Its absence in the film made the final battle seem more of an anti-climax than it felt in the book.

Apart from that, no other complaints about the movie as a whole. It hits all the right notes and nails the most important aspect which is Snape's story. Alan Rickman is, without a doubt, the best cast Harry Potter character ever. His previous movies have provided a strong statement for this but his performance in those few minutes nails that statement hands down.

The acting of the central trinity has also drastically improved. As it should also because they've spent 10 years with the creme de la creme of British acting. Daniel seemed to have added the emotional gravitas needed to highlight the tragedy of Harry's life. I also felt that Ron and Hermione's first kiss was extremely passionate and equals its written counterpart.

Overall, I can guarantee that even the most mature and grown up of us will find it hard to hold back the tears as John Williams' masterful and unforgettable theme rolls by during the end credits. But I also know that I will be buying the entire 8 film box set to be watched again and again with future generations to come.

yeah that bothered me too. I understand that there isn't enough time for a full scale gabfest about Ariana or with Voldemort but Harry offering his worst enemy one final chance at redemption and the last rejection really was powerful stuff. Anyway the audience was more into this movie than any one I've been to in recent memory. Lots of clapping throughout although one person yelled at Harry when he

Two new members in one fell swoop. Welcome to both of you.

I saw the movie yesterday and like it quite a bit. It is, by far, the best sequel to the final instalment of a heptalogy that I have ever seen. As far as the Potter franchise goes, I like it about as much as The Prisoner of Azkaban which was my favourite thus far. Time and a re-watch will tell if I end up liking this one more or less.

I'm in agreement that the film is on par with Revenge of the Sith. But, Return of the King? Surely you jest. The Lord of the Rings is in a completely different league to Harry Potter. The entire Lord of the Rings trilogy makes a masterpiece. Harry Potter is, at its absolute best, "merely" very good.

I'll take HP over LOTR any day of the week.

Thank You for the Welcome. Been intending to register for a long time and the release of HP felt right.

I think I didn't quite put it the right way. In terms of pure quality of the movies, LOTR is miles ahead of HP definitely. I was talking more about the quality of the adaptation and how it brings everything together neatly in the end providing the perfect finale that Harry Potter deserved. By that measure, HPATDH2 is definitely as good as those two movies.



I think the lore in the films is definitely not as well established. So, if people want to know about your bit in the spoiler, they would definitely have to go through the books. There are lots of finer details across multiple layers about books that films just cannot capture and this holds true for LOTR as much as it does for HP.

Sadly, I find the people in Dubai to be rather subdued. There was mild applause here and there and a round of claps. If I were back home in India, there would've been whistles and big noises as the ending neared and the final battle was over.

Ah, I read you more clearly now. Unfortunately I haven't read any of the Potter books so I'm not sure how well they are adapted but I would agree that the finale managed to wrap everything up nicely even if the epilogue didn't really work.

You mean Ron Weasley's paunch didn't do it for you? Seriously, though, I thought that was an awesome touch, even if the makeup work in that scene ranged from ineffective to slightly creepy.

I watched all eight movies over the course of five days this week with the wife. I had already seen 1-6, she had seen none, and neither of us had read word one of the books. I didn't really get the sense that the movies--even 6, 7a, and 7b--left non-readers behind. We for the most part understood who the major players were, what was going on, and why characters were behaving as they did. We even caught some of the more subtle gags--like one student's (Seamus?) propensity for blowing himself up--that I assume were thrown in as Easter Eggs for the readers, since we had seen all the movies less than a week ago. That said, Lucius Malfoy's behavior in 7a and 7b confused me. I don't think I got from the movies what exactly had happened to break him like that. The movies didn't make it clear.

Overall, we both found it a suitably epic finale for the series, and we definitely left satisfied. My wife teared up at least four times and applauded at the end. The conclusion to Snape's story--which I always feared would turn out unsatisfying and internally inconsistent--far exceeded my expectations. I had guessed at the broad strokes, but the memory-montage was masterfully done in almost every detail--especially capped as it was with the close-up of Harry just as the memory ends.

A note on movie 7a: Having watched it for the first time mere hours before our showing of 7b, I really really enjoyed it. I actually thought the pace was much improved over 6, and even though not a whole lot happened, it felt like a suitably long buildup to the epic battle that you don't always get in your movie-theater fantasies. To cross the fantasy streams, it was the deep breath before the plunge--and as such it worked really well.

Edit: added spoiler box just to be safe.

To put it more in Harry Potter language,


I went on a Harry Potter marathon last week and watched the 7 films before seeing the 8th one on the weekend. I decided I still quite couldn't say goodbye, so I am going on another marathon this week with re-watching the first 7 films and catching the 8th one this weekend again.

Re 3D: I saw it in IMAX 3D at midnight and did not have any real problems with it. I am not saying that the 3D added much, but there were only a couple scenes that were a little too dark. I think the theater I was at probably jacked the brightness up since the non-3D previews were extremely bright.

Anyway, the quality probably depends upon the theater you see it at, but if you are going to see the movie multiple times in theaters, I think trying it out in IMAX 3D is worth it. Remember, you will always be able to watch it in 2D at home. Might as well see it in 3D once.

I've seen this twice in the cinema and have to call it a fitting end to a rather grand saga. They are a wonderful series of movies and whatever faults can be eked out of the books or their movie counterparts fail, to me at least, to put much a dent in the overwhelming importance of the Harry Potter story as a work of fiction.

Finally saw it (in 2D no less!). Amazingly well done, it's about time they made a GOOD Harry Potter movie

One or two issues that stood out and noticed plenty that I know wouldn't make sense to someone unfamiliar with the source material however this was more than made up for by outstanding effects, gorgeous photography, (surprisingly) decent acting and an exciting score. A must for blu ray I think