Harry Potter Receives An Unworthy End

Shortly after midnight, the final Harry Potter installment premiered, marking the end of a legacy. For many, this was the epitome of bittersweet; while some could not wait to see what happened to Harry Potter (they somehow avoided reading the books), others were sad that this would be their last time seeing the famous trio in action.

Regardless of the film’s production quality, fans were going to love this movie. Just the sight of the opening screen garnered an ovation from a sold out crowd at .  Most likely, a person who hated the first seven movies would not go through the effort of seeing the premiere if he or she thought it would be horrendous. The people who turned out were the ones who were anticipating specific scenes, the people who expected to laugh and cry throughout the movie.

And overall, those were the people who made this experience extremely enjoyable. It was fun to see the fans showcase their originality; I saw every kind of costume and outfit ranging from ’s graduation gown being used as a cloak to Gryffindor snuggies being used for look and comfort. As boisterous fans made their way from the lobby to their respective theater, one could feel their excitement a good hour and a half before show time. Friends ran up and down crowded aisles, trying to greet every last person they hadn’t been able to see through the course of the summer (the crowd was primarily filled with Parkland students and graduates). When the clock finally struck midnight, the crowd frantically made their ways back to their seats in anticipation for the long-awaited finale.

However, as much I enjoyed the night and am glad I was among those in attendance for the relatively historic event, I was not as content with the ending as many others were. I found several details missing from the movie that may not have been essential to the plot, but really added a lot to its depth. Most of my grievances occurred towards the end of the movie, with aspects missing from the denouement and epilogue. The epilogue in particular was tremendously shortened from that of the book, which left many fans wanting more when there most likely never will be.  I didn’t mind that several things happened differently than they did in the book, I was just disappointed that the book’s transformation to the big screen took away some of the substance and meaning.

All that being said, the Harry Potter finale was still a very good movie, it’s just relatively impossible to live up to the tremendous hype that prefaced its release. Harry Potter is still one of the most captivating stories that truly defined the last decade of not only American, but global, culture. In basketball, there will only ever be one Michael Jordan just as in boxing there will only ever be one Muhammed Ali.  And in the theatres and the books, in real life and pure fantasy, there will only ever be one Harry Potter.