‘Potter’ finale offers viewers fulfilling emotional experience

On June 30, 1997, J.K. Rowling published the first book of the Harry Potter series, “Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone.” Little did Rowling know that more than 14 years later, the series would end with thunderous applause in theaters around the world.

During the opening weekend that began at 11:59 p.m. on July 14, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” attracted millions of fans to their local theatres, including The Grand in Conroe. The lines that went out the door into the rain at The Grand only contributed to a small fraction of the $169.2 million in ticket sales that broke the record for the highest grossing opening weekend in movie history, with the help of 3D ticket prices, of course.

Each scene in the movie was essential to conveying the story of “The Boy Who Lived,” and many of the major scenes were taken word-for-word from the book. Some of the unnecessary parts of the book were left out to keep the movie flowing, but many scenes were also added for the same reason. For example, the epic fight scene between just Voldemort and Harry that took place from the Great Hall to the castle battlements created an unforgettable adrenaline rush. The book provided the same feeling, but with a chapter of fighting with words instead of with wands.

Fans’ emotional journey with Harry inevitably starts to come to a close at the turning point of the movie, when “The Boy Who Lived” went to die. Harry realized his destiny was to stop fighting and die in order to completely destroy Voldemort.

He went straight to the Forbidden Forest upon Voldemort’s request, and for the first time he was sure that he was about to die. Throughout the series Harry was involved in many dangerous situations and close calls, but as he was surrounded by the spirits of his deceased family and friends in the Forbidden Forest, he hopelessly asked Sirius Black “Does it hurt? Dying?” While Harry’s fear of death builds sympathy for the story’s hero, Voldemort’s fear of death, shown for the first time in the series, gives viewers hope that he is weak enough for Harry to defeat. In this way, Voldemort becomes more human and vulnerable instead of immortal and invincible. These emotions displayed for the first time on screen gives viewers a deeper connection to the characters.

Not only do viewers have a fulfilling emotional experience, but thanks to the breakthroughs in 3D technology they also have an intense viewing experience. Many 3D movies try to dazzle you with a bunch of obnoxious effects popping out in your face. This movie’s 3D effects however, are so natural that most of the time you forget that you are wearing 3D glasses, which are fashioned after Harry’s own circular glasses. The stunning performances by familiar characters, focused and well-chosen scenes, an emotional journey and seamless special effects absorb you into every moment making this the best movie of the series.

Scott Scarborough is going to be a senior at Willis High School and is on the newspaper staff. Hayley Fick is a 2011 graduate of Montgomery High School, where she was the newspaper editor.

Scarborough and Fick had the winning photo in The Courier’s Harry Potter costume photo contest on The Courier’s Facebook page as a part of the paper’s coverage of the opening of the film on July 15. They won the opportunity to write a review of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” for the paper.

Review: Harry Potter 7 Part 11

Reviewing Harry Potter 7 part II is like trying to describe my senior year of high school — almost impossible to do in 500 words or less — so I’ll begin with the simple observation that people with glasses should not watch 3D movies in the theater. Ever. That the latest craze sweeping the movie-going public is not designed

with the bespectacled in mind speaks volumes about how likely a given attendee is to see a preview or poster and exclaim, “Gee! I hope they did that in 3D!” — much less agree to pay $20 for the experience.

I was not actually looking forward to seeing this film as much as those who have been subject to my persistent Harry Potter references would think. There was so much that the makers could mess up. Like so many, I grew up with these books. The novels’ release, and the characters’ ages, proceeded at nearly the exact same pace as my own.

I have an emotional connection to the characters and their journeys; I remember the midnight release parties, the frantic need to finish each new volume as soon as possible, the slow realization that J.K. Rowling was serious and would not spare us the ugly reality of death or torture or bureaucracy, that none of the questions about who was good or bad were as simple as we thought, that someone I cared about could die. When I think of Harry Potter, I think of growing up, of how magical and exciting and scary it was and is.

When the movies were first released I didn’t like them, for the same reason that I don’t like wearing someone else’s sneakers. Even if they’re the correct size, they don’t feel right…they’re formed to someone else’s feet, not my own. The films did not conform to my imagination of Hogwarts, and that ruined the magic for me.

I expected this film to be the same as its predecessors, so I was surprised by how familiar and right it feels. The actors have grown with the characters too, and they’re more comfortable in them now, slipping into the scenes like putting on an old jacket, with an ease noticeably absent from the earlier films. Nowhere does that certainty show more than in the final installment. As one dude sitting behind me said as we left: “It’s been ten years, and it’s finally over.” The sense of achievement, of completion, is palpable, and I could feel it ripple across the crowd. It was done, and we were satisfied.

Watching the movies in short succession is particularly interesting. The first two years at Hogwarts are bright and magical; by the eighth movie, the film is practically black and white, desaturated of even the little color present in Part I. It mirrors the darkness of the world itself, all the magic and color of childhood drained, only stark reality left.

I skipped out on the theater experience for most of the previous movies, and I’m glad I didn’t for this one. Even though they left out parts of the book, or even blatantly changed others — Harry very explicitly didn’t say goodbye to Ron and Hermione; the Voldemort of the novels couldn’t feel his Horcruxes being destroyed; Harry and Voldy did not wrestle with each other while falling off a turret and inexplicably clawing at each others’ faces — all of the changes made sense in the interest of time, pace, or avoiding the stilted feeling that comes from following the book too closely.

Or they tied up ends not answered in the book, such as Neville’s crush on Luna. None were a source of outrage, and some were quite funny. After McGonagall brings the statues to life to defend Hogwarts, she quips rather cheekily, “I’ve always wanted to use that spell!”

I did wonder how in the world it would feel to watch this without actually knowing what was going to happen — in other words, for those who didn’t read the books. I’ve often thought that much was left unexplained because the filmmakers assumed we understood from reading the novels, and had more than one moment where I thought, “If I hadn’t read the books I’d have no clue what is going on.” The fourth film was particularly bad about that.

Luckily, I had my boyfriend with me, who has read the books, but also suffers from some odd brain malfunction that makes him like a goldfish: he can’t remember anything that hasn’t happened within the last 3 minutes. He exclaimed in surprise when Snape was killed, and when Harry discovered he was a Horcrux, and when George died, but followed the course of action well enough.

And even though I knew about these things years ago, and was distracted by nitpicking all the missing and altered details from the novels, I still managed to get swept up in these moments and cried and laughed and applauded at each. That’s a testament to how good the movie was. It was enjoyable both for me, the nitpicky book-loving fan, and him, the might as well have been the movie only audience member.

I was impressed a great deal by the special effects, mostly because they were not particularly noticeable, and that’s saying something when the movie involves a dragon, trolls fighting animated suits of armor, battles of magical spells and aging 20 year olds into their late 30s. They did what special effects are supposed to do: enhanced the story, made it believable, without being the story or distracting from the story. Even the 3D was less about “Hey, it’s 3D!” (a la Resident Evil 4) and more about sweeping you into the moment. It was also the first 3D film I’ve seen that didn’t hurt my eyes.

Bottom line: The final installment is well worth the trip to the theater, regardless of whether you’re a casual viewer or a die-hard fan. It’s a suitable ending to a franchise that has ensnared our senses for more than a decade, and a lovely way to lose two hours of summer. I just wish I hadn’t been so startled by the last spoiler I’ll leave you with: 36-year-old Ron is fat.

Potterheads find solace in the boy wizard's silver screen finale

About 13 years ago, a seemingly ordinary boy (apart from the lightning scar on his forehead) inhabited a cupboard under the stairs at number four Privet Drive. Of course, he was anything but ordinary. He led a generation into a world of strange incantations, chocolate frogs and Quidditch. In

the final installment of the "Harry Potter" series, the boy-who-lived-under-the-stairs is long gone, replaced by a brooding young man with a patchy beard. The fanciful world that Harry Potter introduced millions of children to is under siege.
Lord Voldermort is not the only threat, however. For simple muggle folk, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” is the end. But, really, the end of what? The last book came out a few years ago. What makes this movie so special, so significant as to have lines outside movie theaters that twist around the block, packed with 20-something-year-olds dressed in costumes who leave the theater two-and-a-half hours later with tear-stained faces?
After all, the vast majority of people who will see the movie have read the books and, therefore, know how the struggle between Harry and Voldemort ends in the wizarding world. It’s certainly not the plot itself that has caused “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” to have the largest ever single day gross.
Indeed, in many ways, the final movie is guilty of all the same flaws as the others. Parts are left out and other aspects are put in. Far too much time is devoted to a ride through Gringots to showcase special effects. Daniel Radcliffe still can’t act all that well and seems to have eaten a Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Bean that doesn’t agree with him every time his scar twinges. And yet, no one could really have asked for a better finale.
It has been said that “Harry Potter” belongs to a generation. Arguably, he doesn’t belong to just any generation. It’s a generation that has lived through Sept. 11, a generation that must make its way through some of the toughest economic times this country has known. It’s a generation that must grow up and face reality just as Harry and his friends are forced to do. They’ve grown-up together, bonding over teen angst in a dark world. As a result, the fear of Lord Voldemort and the somber, muted colors of the movie strike a chord.
But above all, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” provides an escape — a chance to sit in wonderment of a world where the word “lumos” produces a light at the end of a wand and heroes emerge from unlikely places. In particular, Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1”) emerges, not only more attractive, but as a stronger character and a force to be reckoned with in the movie. And of course, there’s Severus Snape (Alan Rickman, “Alice in Wonderland”), the bravest of them all, fleshed out in all his complexity with a truly wonderful final performance.
With the movies, it’s not the plot that matters that draws its sizeable audience, but the characters who emerge on screen. The actors and their characters have grown alongside their fans. Plot holes and missing scenes don’t matter in the wake of being swept up by Potter-mania.
And now it’s all over, time to move on, time to return to the real world, remembering that the halls of Hogwarts are pure fantasy. But perhaps those leaving the theater with tear-stained faces should consider Dumbledore’s remarks in Kings Cross Station: “Of course it’s happening in your head Harry, but why on earth should that mean it’s not real?”