Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 – 2011
Here we are with the final installment of a franchise that began ten years previous, one of the biggest money-making properties of all time. The task of creating the visual effects for the crowning installment of the series of eight films was to be bigger, better, and more visually stunning than all the rest of the films. And I honestly believe they succeeded. They showed us a lot of visuals that we had never seen before, giving the effects-heavy Harry Potter films a proper send-off.
There was a completely photo-realistic dragon, fire demons, a sentient python, magical shields, animated stone statues, giants, giant spiders, those swirling, inky flashbacks, major explosions, the destruction of an entire castle, amazing magical deaths, wand battles, a magic sword, and a fantastic afterlife depiction! This movie was heavy on the action and stunts, while, at the same time, maintaining an atmosphere of subtlety and finesse.
One spectacular kind of visual effect was the lengthy destruction of Hogwarts, a place that, over the course of six of the previous seven films, fans of the movies have grown to love. And it wasn’t just one or two set pieces that were demolished. Every part of the citadel seemed to sustain major damage. The chaotic battle sequences were phenomenal, giving the real impression that no character was safe, except for maybe our three leads. The climactic wand battle between Harry and Voldemort was exciting to watch, and they were smart to leave the destruction of the final horcrux until that battle was already underway.
I have to mention a few things that I really liked about this movie, even when comparing it to the earlier films in the franchise. The first thing that comes to mind is the giants. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, we were given a completely CGI giant in the character of Grawp. He looked ridiculously terrible. But here, they redesigned the giants, using actors with makeup and prosthetics, who were then enhanced by CGI. They looked so much better! I also really liked how whenever a horcrux was destroyed, the image of Voldemort’s snake-like face appeared in the detritus surrounding the destruction. We saw it in smoke, fire, and water, and it looked cool every time. The magical shield and its destruction was also really incredible. And I really liked the variety of different battle-worthy spells. They were creative and visually unique like the death of Bellatrix LeStrange, or when Voldemort’s robes came alive and tried to strangle Harry.
But I think my favorite effect in the movie was the fiendfyre spell that destroyed the trove of hidden things in the Room of Requirement. The images of live animals in the flames was spectacular, and the way the sentient flames poured over the room like liquid destruction was incredibly intense! They seemed to have pulled out all the stops for this movie, just like we all wanted them to, and they didn’t seem to drop the ball on any of it. It all looked amazing, realistic, and totally believable. It was an incredibly fitting send off to such a wonderful fantasy franchise. Well done!