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EDITOR'S PICK
Rating: **1/2
All good things must come to an end and so does the journey of the name that
launched a trillion dollar industry and burnt countless fans down in lawsuit.
But there are only two problems - this is not the end of the Harry Potter
franchise and neither were all the films in it good, including this last one
that seems like an unexpected whimper if you are not a big Harry Potter fan.
Harry Potter (Danielle Radcliffe), with his friends, rushes to find and destroy
the remaining Horcruxes even as Lord Voldemort gathers forces against him. In a
final confrontation between good and evil, good triumphs as Harry saves the day,
Hogwarts School and a trillion dollar franchise that gave the world its first
billionaire writer.
Carrying on with the tradition of the first part, the film stays closest to the
book as compared to the first six parts. And therein perhaps lies its biggest
problem. It is slow and dimwitted compared to the book and has lines that are at
best, juvenile. Sample this: after seeing her daughter being attacked, a mother
lets out a scream, "Not my daughter, you bitch!", and saves her.
This is the sort of writing you`d expect in a B-grade movie, not a high-budgeted
Hollywood blockbuster. Agreed that from a children`s film, this has graduated to
a teen semi-horror flick, yet, such atrocious writing will go well only with
juvenile minds.
And indeed, minds soaked in the nostalgia of a franchise that comes to an end
will gloss over the spectacular special effects in the film, and of seeing their
imagination come to life and a satisfying conclusion on the big screen. They
will not notice that the film is full of bad direction, terrible acting and
completely childish plot executions.
And that is where the problem lies, not just with the film, but with its
audience who have abandoned craft and quality to nostalgia and fame. Perhaps
they are justified, after all, this film marks the end of the Harry Potter
universe. But does it really?
After the fan base of Harry Potter swelled post the first book, the owners of
the book and movie franchise have been overtly possessive and protective of what
is obviously their biggest cash cow.
Fans of Potter who have come out with spin-off stories or content in the Harry
Potter universe have been slapped with thousands of lawsuits worth millions of
dollars in the last decade. Obviously, if they anticipated the end of Harry
Potter, the owners wouldn`t have gone through so much trouble.
And it is indeed not the end. Warner Bros. has already opened the first of many
Disneyland styled theme park in Orlando, and the book sales have only
intensified over the years with translations in many more languages in the
offing. And though there`s no indication, one can`t rule out a TV series either.
So fans of Harry Potter can rest assured, Harry Potter fought the odds and
survived in the end, and so will his franchise. Indeed, for all we know, this
might just be the beginning.
The world has witnessed the bequest that the Harry Potter series has engraved. With a series that has managed to create more than an impact over a decadeRead More
In Part 2 of the epic finale, the battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war. The stakes have never been higher and no one in safe. But it is Harry Potter who may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice as he draws closer to the climatic showdown with Lord Voldemort .It all ends here.