Things have been fucked for a very long time in the wizarding world of Harry Potter. Since Harry's first year at the magical boarding school of Hogwarts, there has been a steady slide away from the whimsy that marked the first couple installments, and into a state of constant dread. Oh, how the students of Hogwarts must miss the days when the most they had to fear was Professor Snape taking points away from their house's tally. Those were such sweet salad days, filled as they were with jelly beans of ridiculous flavors instead of Death Eaters and ethnic cleansing.

This latest installment picks up where Part 1 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows left off: things are looking very dire, indeed, as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has obtained the most powerful wand ever created, and Harry and his friends have freshly buried yet another in a soon-to-be-overwhelming string of dead friends. Hogwarts has been turned into a dismal work camp, and Harry, Ron and Hermione still need to find and destroy several more horcruxes!

I've observed over the last couple Harry Potter films that the author, J.K. Rowling, pretty clearly didn't have a fully fleshed out plan for where her story was headed. This becomes abundantly clear in this final installment, as loose ends are tied up at an alarming rate. Not that a clarity of vision has ever been the Potter series' strong suit - and nor, frankly, does it need to be. So invested are we in the lives of these characters, by this point, that we merely want to follow them to the very end, wherever that end may be.

Much of the action, this time around, involves the students of Hogwarts defending their school from the nefarious Voldemort and his legion of Death Eaters. After the long stretches of aimless wandering in the forest that made up Part 1, these scenes of action are a welcome change of pace. Part of the appeal of the Potter series has been how (usually) seamless the transition from children's entertainment to moody, dark territories has been. As the predicaments that Harry and his friends find themselves in become more dangerous, the look and feel of the films follow suit. There are moments in Part 2 that are legitimately shocking and intense - which makes for a richer arc and a more fulfilling story.

When it comes time to wrap up these seven (or eight, depending on how you count) films, there is some faltering and clunky rushing of information. The world of these films has been built up so densely with innumerable subplots and excursions that it's exceedingly difficult to tie up every loose end in a satisfying way. The conclusion that is arrived upon is adequate, if somewhat pat and easy. Part 2's desperation to hit all of its marks sometimes results in unintentional humor - though that has long been one of the more enjoyable aspects of the series.

What we're left with, at the close of the series, is an admirable, if fantastically uneven, story. To watch these kids grow up, and to watch the films grow up with them, has been no small delight.

Reviewer rating: Three out of four stars