Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

I think I'm the last person in the world to see the final Harry Potter film, so, there's probably little use in reviewing it. But, I will anyway.
Ten years after a very young Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson brought J.K. Rowling's best-selling wizard characters to life, they join up for the final film. It picks up almost immediately where "Deathly Hallows: Part 1" left off, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione try to find the last of the horcruxes and finish off the villainous Voldemort.
It's a dark film, in tone and light. Even during the day scenes, the characters are always somber (for good reason), the sun is never really bright, and there's a sense of impending doom.
I think this is a good movie. I'm just not sure it's great. The first two-thirds of the film goes by incredibly quickly. Then the final act begins, and despite the action, seems to drag in places. It's different than many "blockbusters" in that it separates big action and special effects sequences with slower moments rather than piling all the action in at the end (or having nothing but action to counteract the lack of a plot). Some work, some don't.
There's little dialogue between the main trio. They discuss what to do, but not at length. I suppose after seven books and seven films, the producers figured there has been enough character development.
One of the biggest challenges in adapting the Harry Potter books to film has been, and remains in this final film, not necessarily the special effects (although that did trip up a few of the films), but the characters. Rowling created a world rich with bright, interesting characters who have much more to do than exist just to play a part in the story of the Boy Who Lived. Due to time constraints and a desire to focus on the fighting, the films rarely capture the depth of any of the Harry Potter characters - not even the main trio. (Voldemort is an exception - the films do an excellent job of making him creepy and pure evil.)
Even the battle scenes, which in the book focus on specific people, are more about the special effects and blasts of light from myriad wands as Hogwarts is under siege. There's a scene that shows the casualties of the wizards' war, people whom many Harry Potter fans have grown attached. The film barely lets you know who died. One key character in particular, I would not have realized who it was without the book as background. The medium is the message, I suppose.
But, no matter. The film looks fantastic. From the dragon to the trolls to the fiery spell that overwhelms the room of requirement, the special effects are superb - and they actually serve a purpose beyond being impressive. There's always a sense of what could have been different or better with films adapted from beloved books, but, all in all, the final chapter of the Harry Potter saga does its best to wrap up one of the world's biggest and most beloved franchises of recent years.