Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2... as an adaptation from a book, it dissapoints. As an action film, it dissapoints. As a completion of the (mostly) great saga of the boy who lived, it's disappointing. Get the idea yet? Rodger Ebert said: " seem fair enough, and "Harry Potter" now possesses an end that befits the most profitable series in movie history." Fitting. That's what this movie feels like, a profit machine. It felt generic, or at least the ending did, the underwhelming, underplayed, disappointing ending. Shame, really.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The whole movie is like a short summary of the book, it was empty story, there is so much things it doesn't explain and others that just where changed, even Voldemort die different from the book, there is parts that were just removed from the history, vital parts of the plot necessary for a good understanding. I think it was just a show of special effects that I should say where really good but I prefer a ugly movie with a good plot before pretty movie without one. Also I think the movie is a shame for those who read the book, and even more for those who donâ… Expand

This movie wasn't good. Daniel Radcliffe is probably the worst screen actor of all time, to the point where it's actually painful to watch. And the liberties that were taken with details from the book just boggle my mind. Little details from the book that would easily translate into a movie were changed or removed. WHY? Why do people blindly love this movie so much? It doesn't make any sense to me.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I sometimes wonder what this movie franchise would be like if the books didnt exist. Personally i think the franchise would have extremely low box office scores. A majority of the fanbase are young teens who are obsessed with the books and who have very bad taste in movies. With having said that this movie is clearly just a pop phenomenon which includes horrendous acting, poor screenplay, and terrible directing. David Yates seems to only high-lite the action sequences and skips through the dialogue and story telling. I really dont know where Yates got the idea of changing the film to action flik. I always associated the books with action/adventure or myster/Adventure. Clearly leanign toward and adventure. And i dont feel like the movies represent an adventure, rather a trio of teenage wizards who seem to always know what to do. There is absolutely no build up to anything they do. For example: "Hey, we need to break into Gringots bank" (the most difficult bank to break into and considered impossible) "OKay, well give me the sword and i will help you" (Scene cuts) Hermione suddenly changes into Bellatrix and Ron has make up on? I would be utterly confused if i hadnt read the book. The movie fails to explain anything that the trio does. Cut back to part 1 of dh7. "Hey! we need to break into the ministry" (keep in mind that Harry is the most wanted person in Britiain) "Okay" cut scene, the 3 are outside in london knocking out 3 random people who could be normal muggles. but miraculously they happen to be wizards! I mean for godsakes David Yates, build up the **** scenes before jumping into them. I can piece together each scene because ive read the books and i understand, but there were so many other scenes in these movies that are just like that. But, hell who am i right?… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Can you say "expectation greater than realization"? Everything is there from a great story of intrigue, danger, love, hate, friendship, families,betrayal, life and death. Then add some of the greatest stage and screen actors around. All this should have been fodder enough for the most thrilling roller-coaster ride of the Harry Potter series of movies EVER! But what did we get? A movie that was as yawning and emotionally void as a teaspoon. Sure, the pyrotechnics and special effects were A+ but what happened to the roller coaster of emotion and tension, happiness of reunited families then sudden death and unhappiness? Percy's reunion with his family to join the fight would have been well worth an added five minutes to the length of the movie. Here is the up ride of the coaster in one second to joy, happiness and forgiveness and as suddenly as Percy is back, Fred is killed! Down goes the roller coaster screaming to despair, out come the tears horizontally!

Another great scene that went missing was MacGonagall giving Slughorn the basic "grow some b.lls and fight or get out of the way". A simple rousing speech by her, at this point, to rally the troops to fight would have had the audience cheering and the students' blood boiling to save their beloved Hogwarts! But no, the fight begins with a "send Slytherin to the dungeons!'. Seriously, that was no battle cry!

Once the battle started, there were few students and others to be seen actually fighting. The movie could have added another five minutes to focus in on a fight here or a death there. Even the great battle from the book (many were waiting to hear the 'B" word) between Molly Weasley and Bellatrix Lestrange would have sent the coaster car careening up to the top of the ride before crashing down with Bellatrix's death (which by the way was more of a whimper than the fabulous death scene it could have been - slow motion added here would have further crossed the T on her death!).
A few other things could have greatly enhanced this movie: Voldemort actually dying in front of the whole school, Hagrid and Grawp fighting outside the castle and then Hagrid getting carried away by the spiders, and Neville and others carrying dead students back to the Great Hall. Just some simple touches of what made the book great would have made this movie stellar. Yes, the scene with Snape's tears going into the vial then into the panseive was fabulous. I sobbed when he held Lily and thought my heart would break at this truly touching and fabulously added scene. Added scenes would have had the audience on the edge of their seats one moment and blubbering into their popcorn the next. Making this picture longer and not jumping so quickly from scene to scene would have allowed the audience to savor this this truly final film in this fabulous series. What's wrong with a three hour movie for 30 million plus fans? Either the WB was looking at the bottom line or those in charge of production were tired and looking at their watches. Finally, the last scene with Harry and company sending their children off to Hogwarts 19 years later. The music as lovely and teary, but what happened to Ron being funny or Harry being stared at? More lost opportunity. And the roller coast limps to the end of the ride. So sorry, but this could have been the big, giant "O" in the HP series and I am very sad it did not live up to the wonderful book and my high expectations.… Expand

I admit it, I have not read the books. With that said, the movies should stand on their own. None of them have, and this one is no different. There is so much wrong with the movie it is difficult to know where to start. So I won't. I will say that parts seemed lifted from the Phantom Menace, Star Wars film, and that is not a good thing.

I entered the cinema with high hopes, that despite the lacklustre efforts of the previous three films, the Harry Potter series would end with a bang. As it happens, this last offering was the most disappointing. One feels as though the actors and the directors are just going through the motions, in the knowledge that with a few special effects here, a few clichés there, the film will almost certainly become a blockbuster hit, smashing records worldwide. The overwhelmingly positive reviews baffle me. The acting wasn't all that bad, don't get me wrong, but the problem at the end of the day was that in the rush to get through the vast plot, we barely got to see the best of any of these talented young actors. There was a distinct lack of speech from any of the characters, and although seven films had preceded it, I did not feel that there was even a tenth of the character development that had made the book so enlightening. A damp squib of a finale.… Expand

I guarantee MOST of the People who reviewed this as 10 have never read the Book at all or have any idea what it could of been like. Most of Scenes have changed, I can understand cutting out scenes but changing loads of them is wrong. It was rather about special effects than acting, which was terrible and rushed. Just because it is the last film DOESN'T mean it's the best. Disliking my comment won't change the fact, in fact it proves to me. People who say the Book doesn't matter is stupid. It had more heart. I'm not expecting it to be exactly like the Book but I didn't expect to be this bad. To all Harry Potter Fans who haven't read the book or Books, don't call yourself a true fan because your missing 3/4 of the information on each Character, whether it's important or interesting. People were going to give this a high review, mainly because it was the last Harry Potter Film. If you haven't read the Book, you instantly lose your credibility.… Expand

Boring!!

On Holidays and yesterday I finally got a chance to see part 2. I think the fact I fell asleep in a cinema for the first time ever pretty well sums it up for me, this movie would be great for insomniacs.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If you're a fan of the films you will enjoy this greatly, for it brings an end to Harry Potters journey and wraps it up in a neat little bow. However, if you are a fan of the books, like myself, you will be disappointed, for the great amount of detail and important side stories left out, which left me feeling a bit empty. Things like the ignorance of the deaths of certain characters (eg: Fred being killed off screen), lack of reactions to Voldermorts and Snapes deaths were just a small selection of anti-climatic moments. I could go on and list everything the film failed to include but it would be better to just go and re-read the books as the films, especially this one, don't do them justice.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I am fan of the HP books, and went with great expectations to see this movie, Sadly I went out very dissapointed. It was a very superficial, flat vision of the book. The scene with Harry and LV and the end was just created to show up the 3D effects. The most important thing, the core of the whole story the death of LV was incomprehensible and lack of the rich nuances of the book. Other scenes, like the moments before the death of Snape with Nagini on the floor instead of the sphere of the book for example took away the magic details of the magic world and focus on the butchery of regular action movies. I agree with the person who points that David Yates doing have moved the movies away from the books.The only satisfaction I got was seeing such an impeccable cast working together.… Expand

Overrated doesn't even begin to describe how terrible this movie was. I went into that theater about a week late, after my friends had raved about how spectacular it was. I expected a masterpiece. When I came out, I said "this is it?" David Yates, after making his masterpiece in Part I, reverted back to what he'd been in Half-Blood Prince and chopped away half of the book, the result being a movie that reached a climax twenty minutes in and seemed to want to hold it for its entire running time. Everything about this film seemed rushed and abrupt, as if each scene was cut until there was almost nothing left. It jolts from one place to another, one climax to another, as if it has a dinner date that it has to keep and needs to finish as quickly as possible. Sadly, all of that overshadows what should be an Oscar-winning performance by Alan Rickman, and leaves you with a film that could have been so much more if it had just paid attention to detail and kept a little more to the source.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This movie didn't need to exist. I'm not going to say that it was not a good idea to make the movie from a financial standpoint as it has sold extremely well, but from a logical perspective it does seem pointless. A book that in itself should only be read by fan-girls that was divided into two parts; the first which has the character running around like chickens with their heads cut off for two hours and the second based around one short battle. This movie could have been reduced to a twenty minute battle without the attempt at an existential crisis and a lot of standing around. I don't blame the producers as anything they seem to put out will sell like hotcakes so it only makes sense to pull this out to two movies, but doesn't mean you should. I'm not a fan of J.K Rowling's writing. As her audience got older with each of her novels she attempted to grow the series with them. This, in my view, failed because she does not have the skills to write anything other than children's novels or how to properly end a series. Keeping this in mind the movie didn't really have a chance to be a good movie, although the ending was better. It probably wasn't possible to get worse as the final battle between Harry and Voldemort lasted longer than one spell. The epilogue bothered me to no end. I was hoping they wouldn't include it as it wraps the book up like a preschooler's picture book. This along with what was seemingly 15 cents as a budget just made it that much worse. To wrap things up, this movie was terrible and didn't need to happen.… Expand

This Movie is **** **** it is **** retarded, **** this movie !!! The last 3 Harry Potters were **** **** the Director **** sucks !!!

Frankly, it was boring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Neville should have killed Nagini in front of Voldemort :(… Expand

Shame....shame...shame...That is not how the book ended, not even close and why would they do that after a brilliant part I...I have to believe if you read the last book then you would be mortified at how they butchered the ending...and argueably the most important scenes...Nevilles defiance ...the end of Nagini ...and the batlle between Voldemort and Harry....I was so disappointed...I have seen all of the previous movies more than once but not this one...It was by far a major letdown and the most egregious movie of the series....bahhhhhhhh!… Expand

This review contains spoilers. There are two reasons to watch the final installation of the Harry Potter movies: the Battle of Hogwarts and the final duel between Harry and Voldemort. The battle was alright. I expected more, thought they'd come up with some really innovative effects or cinematography, but it was pretty good regardless. The reason I give the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 such a low score is because it absolutely RUINED the Harry-Voldemort duel. In the book, this scene derives all its drama from the fact that it happens in front of a packed Great Hall, where all eyes are on the two main characters fighting for their lives. Not so in the movie. Also, what was with Voldemort crumbling away like a vampire exposed to sunlight? It's so important that he die like a normal human, to illustrate the point that he *wasn't* some kind of god-like evil force, but just an evil man. This film screwed that up, too. Bad, bad, bad.… Collapse

At least I feel a sense of closure. Just kidding, this friend owes me 2 hours of my life back. Plus interest. Really,? 150 characters? Because I just spent 10 seconds of my life bringing down the overall user score here, metacritic. C'mon.

An absolute extreme disappoinment to end the Harry Potter franchise. Poor acting, stupid battle sequences, terrible music, deatils completly left out and ending that will go down as the worst ending ever made for a movie. How can Yates leave out such key relationships at the end. Does he understand anything about the relationships of the characters. David Yates will not only go down as the director that totally screwed up Harry Potter but as one of the worst directors of the 21th century.… Expand

A total disgrace to the books as well as the rest of the film franchise. It was like 10 years of memories where kicked to the curb and shot by Nazi's. I can not even get into the details of what was so painfully awful with this film. I really do not understand how so many can actually say this was a great ending. This was about as big smelly piece of trash.

The movie is nothing like the book. Don't waste your time or money watching this crap. Bad acting, generic effects, and a dumbed down story.

Made CHEAP and made to MAKE MONEY. I was very unsatisfied when I left the theater. I felt like the directors, actors, producers had a tough time making this, or everyone just kinda was happy it was over and just gave up! Here are my ten reasons why; 1. The 3-D was a waste. I thought, after seeing the previews, these people in Hollywood were finally making 3-D look good! But they aren't there wasn't enough 3-D in Harry. + Can't they make freaking lens free I-Max 3-D glasses!!?

2. Next this was "setty"! I hate "setty" movies! What I mean by "setty" is that during one scene there are all these people around and watching a fight go down..and two things go wrong...one it's kinda stupid and feels like you're on a set when this kinda thing takes place....but it get's worst when the characters all run away and go fight in there own little rooms....it was kinda funny...its like a big scene get's set up...than woosh (well not really they walked haha) they're in the castle fighting...

3. The fight scenes sucked (see last point). There was not enough blood (for a finally), and when many characters got hurt or died you didn't see anything. CHEAP.

4. The film was very dry and boring at first. The opening scene was almost like a really bad reality show...where there were pauses and script stumble and lots of awkward silence.

5. Plot holes....as many other reviewers point out...but one that bothered me was a character from the beginning disappeared and ended up at a place Harry didn't know about...it was so stupid it was like why wouldn't she just tell him she was going there. Such a dumb plot hole.

6. There was no Dobby, and too little Rubeus. When Rubeus was used his scene was cheap and quick. I would have liked to see him kick some goblins in the face! I felt like they are saving Dobby for the next series (in conjuction with the ending, see next point). I felt like I was cheated. Everyone should show up in the finale, and show up in style.

7. The ending....oh my gosh the ending was so bad....I can't believe they didn't save that for the blu-ray extras. I felt like this was a SCAM and that they were just trying to set up the next Harry Potter franchise! Yuck. Great way to ruin a movie!

8. The dragon!!! Come on it's an awesome dragon! This is fantasy land! Do more with the dragon! Hey how about some 3-D flying angles?!??!! 9. There weren't enough fantasy creatures, and unique special effects that made the first couple movies within a unique world..this felt like it was cold and old.

10. The kissing scenes (if you want to call them that) sucked!

Sorry I hate to be like that. But it really was bad.… Expand

Ostentatious ending to a series that has lost its splendor of originality

Story: Now this is where the film falls short the most, paramount importance is given to scenes where cheap romance occurs (retrieval of the basilisk teeth), which does nothing to enrich the plot, because it has no effect on the overall story, but the filmmaker does not seem o think it is important to explain Harry's "loljks, I wasn't dead", probably assuming that most people have read the book and the others will just say "It was probably magic", but this cannot be too much of a criticism because many of these weak storytelling mechanisms are taken directly from the books. As for the epilogue it seems cheap, gratuitous and completely out of tone with the rest of the film. It feels like it was left there to get a few cheap laughs and to leave the viewer with no uncertainty that Harry does live happily ever after. But most of these criticisms should probably go into a book review, because the source material is as weak as the film itself.

Camera-work and Direction: Average to low standard, especially considering the budget was $250 million. The shots where steady cam was not used only seem out of character with the rest of the film. The sequences where Harry and Voldemort communicate through their psychic connection seem incredibly redundant and have a tendency towards fake experimentalism, which has no motifs and seems to be completely self-indulgent. Under this category falls also the white Kings Cross station, which seems to be an optimistic attempt to form some sort of symbolism, but once again this optimism must go unrewarded. The animations are standard, not adding much to the plot, even when they are mostly visually pleasing.

Acting: The acting in the lead roles seems to be consistent with the rest of the series, even though our familiarity with the characters does not seem to make them more sympathetic. The supporting actors seem mostly relived to be over with this lengthy project and their performances are very weak, which is not saying that they are given enough screen time to give their characters any development.

Sceenplay: Steve Kloves' screenplay seems to be an incomplete work where the adding in of interactions with cute animated creatures through out the film, seem to have importance over the development of the plot. With the fact that his only large job has been in writing the screenplay for the Harry Potter series, his knowledge of the overall story should have aided in tying loose ends, but these remain completely unsolved and seem accentuated with lousy dialogue and lengthily emotionally dry scenes.

Soundtrack: Forgettable rehash of previous successes

Poor ending to the epic (in size not in merit) Harry Potter franchise.… Expand

As a movie itself, is very bad. As a experience to the fans may be something... nice, just to put an end to the saga. But the movie itself is very very poor, in comparison to the other movies of the same franchise, is a disaster.

Unfortunately this movie is pure half baked fan service, if you want to watch a good movie, don't waste your time.

a great visual and fantasy drive, the end is just horrible, harry potter is one of the most overlong and **** movie with a great CGI like transformers

I've seen the movie in 3D. a real disappointment. it's was boring..i was looking forward to the movie and as it in 3D, i was expecting a little more excitement,surprises and such even though i have read the book. i actually think that it was better to watch it in 2D.

george lucas actually once changed star wars so much in a version released in cinemas, in parts, from 2001 to 2011: luke had black hair and round glasses. darth vader had no helmet, no facial scars and no nose. 'the chosen one' isn't anakin, it's luke. han was a teen with red hair. leia, while still han's boyfriend, was also a teen and had orange hair. the creative THE FORCE was replaced by the concept of 'magic', which is not new at all. the creative LIGHTSABRES were replaced by unoriginal magic wands. the creative-looking STARFIGHTERS were replaced by unoriginal flying broomsticks. and there was a stereotype-looking wizard called dumbledore and of course, don't forgot the the well-worn role of the school bully (called draco or something). ALL THAT MINUS THE VISUAL APPEAL AND EYE-CANDY.… Expand

Accidentally submitted my bad review with a 10 rating. Put in a 0 to even it out. I wanted to rate a 5. And meta critic doesn't allow you to edit, delete or undo your reviews. Below was my previous review:

This movie going experience once again proves my belief that happiness has a high correlation to expectations. Usually, I go into the Harry Potter movies having low expectations: they are, to me, visual companions to my favorite books. Therefore, I usually enjoy them and come out a happy camper even when I go with my girlfriend (and now my wife *gasp*) who tries to damper the viewing (she never read the books and isn't quite a fantasy fan). I never blamed her disinterest in the movies. I just choose to turn a blind eye. I am just glad that they put in the money and effort to translate all the books into blockbuster movies which is quite an undertaking if you think about it. Movies seldom, if ever, exceed the quality of their book counterparts. Even so, the early reviews here raised my expectations for this last HP movie - so much that I was giddy as a school boy up to the moments the movie started. Even the brief and unsatisfying preview of The Dark Knight rises didn't damper my mood. I went in expecting at least similar quality to what I thought has been so far the best movie adaptation in the series (Prisoner of Azkaban). That was a bad mistake. The movie tried to be a joyride of visuals and action and little attention was paid to the character developments. It was a wrap-up of sorts. One can even surmise that that was the original intention. The entire movie felt like the last 20 minutes of every new Transformers movie. Lots of action and hair-raising awkward, too-happy-to-be-true moments of closure. They might as well have ended it with a group dance a la Megamind or Happy Feet or Despicable Me. I hope they re-do this series and hire Christopher Nolan or a real director in 10 or so years. Hopefully by then, I would have washed away all my memories of all the HP movies I've seen to date. I will be re-reading the HP novels starting now and hopefully it can undo my mind/eye/ear's betrayal of the written word for the past 10 years. In sum, if you go watch it, go with a low expectation.… Expand

I have to agree with Xavygravy
This is ridiculously overrated. The first one still remains the best, and it pretty much decreases in quality from there. I would give this a 7, but it needs a 0 to throw off the inaccurate rating.

I was so hyped for this movie and when I saw it I was shocked. It's complete **** There are so many stupid jokes that ruin everything! Don't watch this movie!

The movie may have gone along with the book in a decent way but the whole movie was like one giant Tenebrism painting that was the one flaw that it had. the story and acting may have been great i will give it that but the presentation was terrible and presentation is a big factor.

I have often been criticised for not reading any of the books, but after watching the last film i honestly don't care if the book was as ANTI climatic as the film then I have no problem with not reading them even the latest twilight had a more thrilling end, don't get me wrong I give credit to all who worked on the film and J.K Rowling but it does drag out a bit.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If you like movies you'll love this one. If you're a die hard fan of the movies, you'll hate it.

I love the books. But I know for a fact that the movie doesn't *need* to be like the book.. I loved the movie but honestly, I disliked the liberties the movie has taken with the original story. I still can't believe he broke the wand. He doesn't drop the stone himself, he trips and drops it. There have been lots of places the movies have been different from the book. Most places, I defended it because you put everything in a movie. Case in point was Harry getting the new broom in HP: PoA. Sure, you can't explain the entire story the same way so the broom was given at the end of the movie.

The battle at Hogwarts however deserved more. People have been waiting a long time for it. The number of liberties taken are too much.

As a movie, I'd probably give it a strong 8/10 for a good visual treat and a nice ending to a saga we've been long awaiting.
As a movie which is an end to a saga which was long awaited, the clear butchering of the book's version into the director's/writer's version of the story is just too much for me to handle. I thought the seventh movie was split in two to avoid this exact scenario. For this reason, I'd give it a 1.5/10.

In the end, I'll stick to something in between.… Expand

there is only a few reason i am giving this movie such a bad score aside from it being harry potter. effective use of CGI kept me interested, but the same lame ending every cheesy good vs evil movie has disappointed me very much. i cant wait for harry potter to die, but im still waiting and i swear to god i was gonna get that whole movie theater shut down due to a graphic suicide if i had to hear volds epically retarded scream one more time. hes a great actor but i want to kill the man who told him to do that scream. it was even worse than vaders 'noooo' in episode 3. i guess that was my fault for going to watch a kids movie.… Expand

One thing I was looking forward to in this movie (which I think a lot of old school adventure fans would agree on) when the hero goes to defeat evil its normally in a HUGE glorious battle Lord Of The Rings is a PERFECT example of this. But in this movie the final confrontation between Harry and Voldermort was built up soooooo much that what took over 8 films to hype us up for the final battle ended in mere minutes 3/4 of the way through the film. Thus leaving me VERY dissatisfied already I figured "well I am watching it now, might as well see it through" , the thing I hated yet LOVED about the Lord Of The Rings movies was even though the films had a long running time it TOOK that time and explained everything in detail and had you leaving the cinema adventure satisfied. Harry Potter on the other hand takes less than 5-10mins to explain what the after events of the Deathly Hallows is and I felt ripped off as an adventure fan, hell even my inner child was raging inside of me of the end result. For the new generation of children I take my hat off to you for enjoying this film, however for people like me (80s kid) who grew up with the best expectations from adventure films such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones etc this is not for you… Expand

I don't really get the POSITIVE reviews and acclaim which is being given to the pathetic piece of work we know as Harry Potter 7. Some modification from the original material are understandable but showing some? and leaving the VITALS out is utterly ridiculous. We grew up with the series, reading books and HP7 (I&II both) are not even close to that material and surely the worst among the series. Now i'm certain that they released this movie in two parts not because it was hard to sum up the ending, rather it was a huge profit generator. A disappointment, a failure, D grade movie.… Expand