In a bleak and haunting prologue, the once joyful students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry are marched through the grey courtyard like prisoners in a concentration camp. Darkness has fallen, and the wondrousness and magic of the castle has all but disappeared. Then the title card floats through the clouds, along with a sombre musical cue, as director David Yates draws us back into the world of Harry Potter for the very last time. It is the final act of a final chapter; a magnificently dark and ambitious conclusion to a cultural, literary and cinematic phenomenon. In that regard, despite proving the mistake of splitting the series’ final book in two, this final Harry Potter film is an undeniable success. Who could have predicted that when Joanna Rowling put pen to paper more than fifteen years ago that this would have been the end result? Grand; dark; exciting; heroic – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is a spectacular piece of epic fantasy more than worthy of the legacy of its creator and the hopes and expectations of its fans.
