The eighth and final chapter in the epic Harry Potter franchise has opened to the public. The final episode of Harry’s epic journey, part 2 of “The Deathly Hallows,” is the best possible end for the series that began a decade ago. It’s a dark and thunderous pageant that sets its bespectacled hero in the midst of vast forces, yet never loses track of who he is – a brave boy on the way to becoming a wonderful man.
Much of the film is an extended battle sequence, as Harry, Ron, Hermione and their allies battle the evil Lord Voldemort in a final magical struggle. Keeping the audience very closely connected with Harry is a remarkable achievement, considering the intensity of the action that swirls around him: a roller-coaster ride down to the Gringotts vaults; a dragon-back ride back up; serpentine menace on a cosmic scale; wands sizzling, towers toppling; Hogwarts besieged, and aflame; and, in the shoot-out that will define humanity’s fate, not to mention Harry’s future, Voldemort and his evil allies wielding weapons of sufficient energy to put the Hadron Collider in the shade. “Is it real?” Harry asks at one point, “or is it happening inside my head?” You can understand his perplexity, and you can choose your level on which to savor his mentor’s answer: “Of course it’s happening inside your head, Harry. That doesn’t mean it’s not real.”
Thousands of fans packed Dubai theaters on the opening day, eager to see the closing moments of the Harry Potter saga. The movie set a single-day record with $92.1 million in ticket sales yesterday in the film’s opening in the U.S. and Canada, according to the Hollywood.com Box-Office.
