July 14, 2011 | 12:36 am

Two Jews on Film: ‘Harry Potter and Deathy Hallows: Part II’ Review

Posted Joan Alperin Schwartz (Video by Joan and John Schwartz)

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‘Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows-Part 2 is the final adventure in the ‘Harry Potter’ series. The film is directed brilliantly by David Yates and cleverly adapted for the screen by Steve Klos.

This is not only the last film in the franchise, but it is the best.

From the first shot…where we see Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) holding his sword up to the darkened sky, followed by Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) staring out into the gloomy courtyard at Hogwarts, you know…you’re in for one great ride.

For those of you who haven’t read the books (if that’s even possible) here’s what’s happening…more or less.

The Dark Lord aka Voldemort, now has the Elder Wand (that’s the mother of all wands) and things are very very bad, for bascially anyone, that’s not an ‘evil doer’.

Voldemort and his Death Eaters (no, they’re not a heavy metal band) are about to take over the entire wizarding world. But luckily for the muggles, Harry (Daniel Ratcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) are not going to let that happen.

They set out on a quest to find and destroy the remaining three horcruxes that contain pieces of Voldemort’s soul. Their journey takes them to cavernous deadly vaults, Gringotts Bank, to the halls of Hogwarts…Well basically to a lot of places…where the trio face danger, monsters, and really nasty people.

Voldemort and Harry are in the ultimate battle between good and evil. Every scene is filled with edge of your seat tension, great action, and of course, lots of magic…But in the end, it’s about the characters…Harry, his friends, his classmates and his beloved teachers.

Story continues after the jump.

Yes, there’s epic battles, but what stood out for me the most…is the story comes full circle. Questions are answered. We find out why Harry and Voldemort are connected to each other…and see characters in a new light…Severus Snape for one. Alan Rickman gives a beautiful, complex performance as Snape.

And Ralph Fiennes of course is absolutely amazing. Yes, he’s wearing a lot of makeup, but it’s his brilliant acting that makes Voldemort, absolutely terrifying.

Not to give too much a way, but the ending brought tears to my eyes. Okay, it doesn’t take much to bring tears to my eyes, but it was a beautiful ending…The film ends where it all began…more or less.

All the characters are back…Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange) Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid), Michael Gambon (Professor Dumbledore), Maggie Smith (Prof. Minerva McGonagall) and Julie Walters (Molly Weasley) just to name a few.

I gave ‘Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows - Part 2 five bagels out of five and John almost matched my score…after some arm twisting. The film opens in theaters Friday, July 15, 2011.