10 Movie Scenes That Should Have Happened Off-Screen
3. The Epilogue - Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows - Part II
Harry Potter (mostly) wrapped up in style with the thrilling two-hour finale that was The Deathly Hallows - Part II, except for that widely-ridiculed epilogue sequence.
The scene in question takes place 19 years after Voldemort's (Ralph Fiennes) defeat, with Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson), and Ron (Rupert Grint) watching their own kids leaving for Hogwart's at King's Cross station.
It's a cute idea, and certainly gave J.K. Rowling's book an incredibly satisfying ending, but as with any big screen adaptation, it's all about the execution.
Ultimately, the inexplicably ropey makeup effects to try and make the principal actors look almost double their ages renders the scene unintentionally hilarious, more akin to a thrown-together SNL skit than the final scene in a $250 million blockbuster.
If the effects weren't up to snuff, David Yates probably should've just nixed the scene and left it to the audience's imagination. But inevitably Yates would've been raked over the coals by fans for excluding it, so he was certainly damned either way.