The end of an era. It sounds like a lot of pompous hot air, but it’s a true statement for millions of people around the world. 7 books written and 8 books made in 10 years, the Potter series has been a blitzkrieg of entertainment to say the least. Deathly Hallows part 2 is a fitting end to the series, we’ve been very lucky to get movie adaptations of this quality from start to finish.

Part 2 starts right where part 1 ends, Lord Voldermort has discovered where the Elder Wand is and has taken it by force, leaving Harry and his friends with the task of finding and destroying the remaining Horcrux’s which will make Voldermort mortal. Fail in this task and the results are catastrophic.

Thousands of words, miles of film and countless man hours led to this conclusion. Any new comer to the series can’t start with this film, there is no way they would understand what’s going on and why everything works the way it does. It’s actually a hard movie to write about because so much has led up to this. Let’s try to break this down to the essentials.

The whole series has been made with incredible care and detail. The entire cast is spot on and fantastic. Dan, Rupert and Emma have grown up on screen and completely embodied these main characters. I don’t think anyone can read the books and not see these three in their minds as they read. They’ve gotten better and better with every movie and it shows in the finale. They’ve worked with amazing actors (Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Gary Oldman) which helped them greatly. Matt Lewis as Neville Longbottom finally gets his time to shine. With such a fierce and large evil side on display, the brotherhood and love of the good side standing behind Harry is a sight to behold. Many major characters lose their life in the last book and that weight has made it onscreen large in part because of the actors.

There are some amazing special effects done here. The dragon sequence is particularly stunning and much of the final stand at Hogwarts is incredible too. A lot of background work was done so well in this movie, a lot of people won’t realize how much of the movie was actually digitally created. It feels like a real breathing world which is important for the characters to live in. While the time and extra money to convert the movie to 3D was made, it only worked well in a handful of scenes, hardly worth the extra cost to the viewer. It’s not very prevalent and it dims the brightness of the picture so I’d recommend sticking to 2d showings.

This movie is the shortest in the series thanks to careful pacing and editing. The movie hits the ground running from the start, but the finale doesn’t feel as rushed as the book did. There’s a lot of ground to cover in the movie, but everything is shot and cut to a fine point. The battles aren’t drawn out and desensitizing. While there is mass chaos on screen, it never feels disorienting. The quieter scenes aren’t marred to rush to the next set piece, but they don’t drag either. The characters are able to breath in each scene which kept me completely engaged. There’s a lot of big moments in the book and many of them were done perfectly. Harry’s Walk, The Kings Crossing and Epilogue sequences are all really great. In fact, I thought the Epilogue worked better here than in the book. While I don’t agree with all the changes and how some scenes were shot (Molly Weasley’s big line with Bellatrix) it seems kind of trite to complain about at this point. Most of the changes do work, just look at the last scene that Snape stars in, brilliantly done.

Part 2 works so well that it’s arguably the best in the series. The movies all work together as a whole and are faithful, if altered translations. If you want the complete story, the books are right there to read. At the credits I felt a pang of sadness. Even though the story finished with the last book 4 years ago, there is now no more Potter lore to look forward. It’s all done, finished, complete. It was a satisfying journey, one that may not be repeated for quite some time. I kept thinking about the movie days after I had watched it. A lasting impression, something only my favorite movie can give me. I guess the first step to avoid the withdrawal is to take out the books, something I realize I’m long over due in reading again.