15 Most Overrated Movies Of The Decade (So Far)

10. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2

The Harry Potter series was always something greater than the sum of its parts. Aside from The Philosopher's Stone and The Prisoner Of Azkaban, no individual movie could really be described as a solid stand-alone experience, instead serving to keep moving with an overarching narrative. While for the unconverted minority that made the semi-annual releases something of a slog, for fans it was nothing short of ecstasy; even when there were massive divergences from the plot (The Half-Blood Prince all but dispenses with elaborating on Voldemort's back-story), J.K. Rowling's strong storytelling always ensured for an enjoyable experience.

That was ruined come the finale. The Deathly Hallows was split in two, already something of a kiss of death to franchise-enders - you end up with a first movie that's treading water narratively and a second which is all explosive pay-off with none of the subtlety - but the adaptation here was even more fundamentally flawed than normal.

Harry Potter isn't just a fantasy about a wizard taking on the ultimate evil, but also the much more real story of someone maturing from boy to man. The symbolic point of maturity in the books is when, during the climactic Battle of Hogwarts, Harry reveals to Voldemort that there's no way the Dark Lord can win in a fight with him; a show of confidence and knowledge that signals the end of his journey. In the film, this was replaced by lots of wand zapping and a hand-waving explanation after the fact; they literally botched the entire ending.

Of course, it didn't really matter - nostalgic love for the franchise made the film an eye-watering amount of money and, more perplexingly, praise; it's regarded as one of the series' best films.