Ronita Torcato

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 : Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, directed by David Yates

Avada kedavra!
"Harry is an absolute godsend to our cause,” a certain High Priest “Egan” of the First Church of Satan in Salem, Massachusetts,USA was quoted as saying of British author J.K Rowling's boy wizard. “An organization like ours thrives on new blood - no pun intended - and we've had more applicants than we can handle lately."
Rowling's seven books which sold 400 million copies made it to the screen in the shape of eight blockbusters, stirring interest in  witches and wizards among the young. The Bible condemns  the occult in no uncertain terms. Not for nothing then was the Catholic Church perturbed. Taking  popular culture very seriously, it issued statements criticising the books and stimulating debate on whether or not the laity should be reading them and watching the movies since they glamourised witchcraft.

I like to think Rowling took heed because in the last three volumes in the series, she  makes  it clear that Harry and friends are decidedly on the side of Good battling Evil.To cite an example, Lord Voldemort's pet serpent Nagini harks to that slithering embodiment of evil in the Garden of Eden. Now, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the final chapter of the story, she (and co-writer Steve Kloves) employs sorcery as a story-telling device to show that  self-surrendering love, loyal friendship and bravery can overcome evil and transcend the dark side ( Original Sin? ) of humankind. And that includes everyone from Generation Next and GenHex to  Middle-aged Muggles and Senior Citizens.

So, let's begin at the beginning of the end of this phenomenon. If there were shades of Dickens in previous tomes, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is, to me at least, an epic visualisation of  T S Eliot's great poem East Coker. It is also,even more than the previous works, an emulation of  the moral themes in the deeply devout and committed Christian writers C S Lewis  and  J R Tolkien.  
Part 2  begins where  Part 1 ended. The titular boy wizard (Daniel Radcliffe,lovable) and his best buddies red - haired Ron (Rupert Grint) Weasley and Hermione (Emma Watson) Granger are mourning the death of Dobby, the brave elf at the hands of the wicked Bellatrix (Helena Bonham Carter) in the last movie. Voldemort is a grave robber, stealing the Elder Wand,one of three Deathly Hallows,from  Hogwarts's murdered HeadMaster  Albus  (Michael Gambon) Dumbledore. The trio immediately resume their quest for the three remaining Horcruxes that stores fragments of the soul of the snake-faced Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes,scary)
As the story progresses, Potterhead will notice how previous sub-plots are integrated,and flashbacks explain the actions of characters like Dumbledore's successor Prof Severus Snape (Alan Rickman,tragic), and why Harry can read the Dark Lord's mind. The mission  eventually ends in a great battle where it all began — Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

In consonance  with the narrative, the movie’s colour palette is awash with shades of gloomy gray, but the script interjects whimsicalities and poignant moments to illuminate the grim proceedings. The scenes where Harry is comforted by his dead parents and teachers bring a lump to the throat. And the finale is memorable and gratifying. When the vile Voldemort sneers at Harry “you have allowed your friends to die for you, rather than face me yourself”, the brave,brave boy charges at his nemesis saying, "Let's finish this ..."; Good and Evil are locked  in a deadly embrace as they fight to the finish in a spectacular, CGI effects-filled  face-off.

Should I spoil it by telling you,gentle reader, how it ends although I suspect you know how it ends? Let me just say: watch the final chapter to see how Harry is redeemed, as in sacred Scripture, by self-sacrifice and help from his friends which include Neville Longbottom (endearing in all that swash and buckle with the sword)  and also the unlikeliest of quarters: Draco Malfoy's mother, who lies to Voldemort. As the song from The Sound of Music goes, "Nothing comes from nothing..." and Lady Malfoy's act serves as a fitting coda to Harry's turning back to rescue Draco from a fiery death.
The epilogue,set 19 years after, brings smiles to our faces. Is this really the end? No, it cannot be. If Louisa May Alcott could follow up Little Women with Little Men and Jo's Boys, why can't Joanne Katherine Rowling do likewise? Only remember that God alone is our rock and redeemer and that the Potter Universe is an entertaining figment of a talented author's fertile  imagination.
Expecto Patronum!