Prologue to "Potter"

If you haven't already noticed, and I'm not sure what kind of hole you have to be in for that to be the case, the decade in the making Harry Potter film franchise is about to come to an end. There was a pit in your gut to watching Deathly Hallows: Part 1, because even if you weren't saying goodbye, you knew the end was coming. That's not to overlook the film's many numerous pitfalls. It moved at a glacial pace in the second half, overlooked a few key deaths that would have emotionally compounded the experience (Mad-Eye, we barely knew ye'), and it placed us outside of the comfort zone of Hogwarts without matching that spectacle. I put the film in my top ten last year, but six months later, I cannot believe how wrong I was.

So now we're heading into Part 2, which is offering a lot more blockbuster excitement than the first half of the film. At this point, I'm not even sure if it's appropriate to call it the first half, rather than a film that exists perfectly on its own. I keep trying to watch Part 1 again, and I simply can't get past the Death Eater discussion scene without losing interest. Then going back over the entire series, I wonder what ultimately was the point of it all? There's so much that could have been done better and wasn't, but it's too late to go back. To be honest, I don't even think I want to. The excitement was there, but it was a child's excitement.

The somewhat amazing thing about the series is that it does perfectly carry you through your own childhood journey. Each film is built to appeal to the age of the characters it's portraying. Deathly Hallows: Part 1 speaks to college idea of leaving home and being somewhere strange and unfamiliar. In the same way, Part 2 is about returning home to a feeling of nostalgia, yet feeling oddly misplaced after so long, and finally moving on past it to a new life. I won't have my review up until Saturday, but many will obviously be shelling out the cash to go to the midnight showing. Best of wishes to all of you, but know that the magic can't and won't last forever.