Harry Potter: Ranking The Movies From Worst To Best
4. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
Director: David Yates
We've gone this far without talking about the beautiful work submitted by Maggie Smith as configurations professor McGonagall, which has to be remedied immediately. She was Rowling's personal choice to play the role, and I'm sure many of you know Maggie Smith had cancer and was going through radiation therapy during the filming of The Order of the Phoenix and The Half-Blood Prince. Yet her performance is always top-notch, and she's given a chance to really shine in the final film in the series.
In what was probably the best scene in the movies that was not included in the book, Smith joyously assembles the stone figures that line the interior of Hogwarts to protect the school from the upcoming onslaught by the Death Eaters. But that's what is so great about the Potter universe, it is lined with such a vast array of great characters, and any time Maggie Smith plays a delightful tertiary character it is a definite bonus.
The final film works hard to give every character their due, and it is surprisingly successful in that regard. For example, the brief but important inclusion of Tonks and Lupin is handled beautifully and their fingers separated by just a few inches for eternity makes for a powerful and melancholy metaphor. And Snape, poor beautiful Snape, played with total solemnity by Alan Rickman met his end graciously here. Will I cry when I watch him die again? Always.
The final battle is played out with typical big-budgeted grandiosity. It is fun to watch, but perhaps not as rewarding as some of the best scenes from other films (give or take Molly Weasley screaming out "Not my daughter you bitch!"). The final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort is a little more protracted than it is in the book and gives Harry more of a chance to be the heroic figure that he has become, but killing Voldemort away from everyone doesn't really add anything to the movie.
But when Harry, Hermione, and Ron stand in line on Platform Nine and Three Quarters one last time you're not only seeing the characters happily ever after, you've just seen the actors grow up in front of your eyes. It's a deeply emotional moment that plays on many levels both inside and outside the Potter universe.
When I see the kind of schlubby Ron with Harry at the end, I hope that they continued to have a J.D. and Turk-like relationship, because Daniel and Rupert made me believe that they would actually be best friends forever. The fact that it was the finale definitely gave it a little more credit than expected (the 96% on Rotten Tomatoes was the highest score any Potter film received) but not more credit than it deserved.