Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II
On Thursday evening, Nottingham’s Broadway Cinema hosted the opening night of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. The screening technically took place on Friday morning at 0.05, but there were numerous festivities to keep the potterholics entertained during their anxious wait.
Our gang arrived at approximately 10pm, and made our way straight to the bar for some light refreshments. There were two incarnations of Butterbeer available for purchase – a non-alcoholic version and the butterbeer cocktail. The cocktail packed a punch comparable to a cruciatus charm and tasted largely like ginger beer. Unfortunately I can’t comment on the intoxicant-less version because they’d sold out before I got a chance to sample it. It was the only blip in an otherwise smoothly run evening, especially seeing as the goodie bags, which contained a token for a half-price Butterbeer, hadn’t even made their way around yet. Talking about goodiebags, they were a somewhat underwhelming collection of a few Haribo and a worthless token – stretching it! Maybe it’s nice for the kids, but considering it was a midnight showing and there were only two or three families actually there, it was a bit of a futile gesture. But moving on.
An eclectic array of people turn up to the event, all with varying levels of Potter-fandom. Some of them were kind enough to let me take a quick picture to commemorate the evening, and here’s a montage of those clips. Say ‘Quidditch’! (Sorry for all the red-eye)
It’s nice to see so many people wearing wizard’s hats (please note – these people were not actually wearing wizard’s hats). Anyway, as the beginning of the end rapidly approached, we settled into our seats. The atmosphere was electric as we eagerly awaited franchise’s denouement. After being witness to the frankly dull teaser for The Dark Knight Rises, the final feature of wizardry got underway…
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| Ralph Fiennes as Voldermort in Harry Potter and The Deathy Hallows Part 2 |
Having witnessed the premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, it is overwhelmingly clear how much Harry Potter means to people. Thousands queued for days to see the cast of their on-screen heroes in the most passionately anticipated film of 2011. But they also waited to see the hero of modern day literature, Joanne Rowling. Her story, of a boy wizard and his two best friends in the face of evil, became a part of everyone’s lives and has continued throughout the films. The premiere displayed everyone's expectations and the insane scale of the event promised that Harry Potter is about to go out with a bang (of his wand!).
Part I left us on an inevitable cliffhanger and Part II quickly sweeps you on this epic finale. Harry has horcruxes to find and destroy if he is to defeat Lord Voldemort ('he who must not be named', if you're that way inclined) and his search takes him to Gringotts bank as Voldemort turns his attention to an attack on Hogwarts. With a relentless pace from the opening, it’s easily the most action packed film in the series. No end of duel; giants, a dragon, goblins and all out war that - for the most part - centres around Hogwarts. It is a classic face off between good and evil but not only between Harry and Voldemort, both have their followers and the war between them is spectacular. Be warned, this film has a serious death count.
The special effects are astonishing, flying you around the school grounds, through endless duels and then throw you through castle windows, amid explosions and spells. Exposition is gladly light and cleverly done, often with visuals and even through sound design, and answers most of the questions you may have from part I, leading nicely to a dramatic climax. There are a couple of niggles. A scene with Helena Ravenclaw (Kelly Macdonald) doesn't quite match the rest of the film and hardcore fans of the book may question some decisions about the filmmakers artistic license in their adaptation.
A stunning cast for these iconic characters has always been a main attraction. Director David Yates never ignores them and treats us to some lovely moments. Fred and George share a moment of brotherly reassurance, Molly Weasley defends her daughter, Professor McGonagall (Maggie Smith) kicks ass, just some examples of the attention these characters are given that bring them out from the background and imprint them in our memories long after. Matthew Lewis shines as Neville Longbottom and emerges as a true hero and Warwick Davies' sinister Griphook is superb. Then there's the terrifying Ralph Fiennes who just dominates the screen, but Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) steals the show (momentarily).
Who'd have thought that those three children from The Philosopher's Stone would become the talent they are today. Rupert Grint and Emma Watson play their supporting roles excellently and we love them together, but take a bow Daniel Radcliffe, he has truly grown as an actor. Strong, subtle, his expressions when contemplating death and watching those around him fall is tonally perfect. Finally, he IS Harry Potter.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, concludes a decade of films... no mean feat. Fittingly, it is a terrific film with something for everyone, fan or not. The pace and tone are spot on, there's humour, action, sorrow, romance, some stunning visuals but more importantly, everlasting, resonant characters. It is a bittersweet event, something we have been waiting for a long, long time and now it's finally come, you really don't want it to be over.
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part II will be showing at Broadway until Thursday 4 August.
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