The movie starts with our three heroes -- that would be, for the eighth and final time, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) -- breaking in to the goblin-owned Gringotts Bank and then swiftly deposits them back at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where they ready the student body for the final battle with Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and his army of evil minions. Mostly unburdened by the demands of having to provide exposition or character building, Deathly Hallows, Part 2 is free to indulge in what the movies have always done best: big, effects-driven action sequences punctuated by crowd-pleasing moments of the charming, if dramatically limited leads palling around together like actual best friends. The film, which, at a mere 130 minutes, is the shortest of all the Potter features, hurtles along from one set-piece to another, confident that the majority of the audience already knows the story by heart and can fill in any blanks for themselves.

The filmmakers aren't wrong about that. If Deathly Hallows, Part 2 is your first Potter picture, you either lost a bet, or are babysitting your older brother's kids or just didn't want to see Bridesmaids for the fifteenth time. Either way, don't go in expecting to understand what's going on. Everyone else in the audience, meanwhile, will know exactly why it's a bad thing that Voldemort is in possession of the Elder Wand (the most powerful wand every created), how Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) is running Hogwarts in place of the dearly departed Albus Dumbledore (short version: Snape killed poor ol' Dumby and was given the job by his supposed ally, Voldemort) and who the hell that winsome red-haired girl is that keeps staring longingly at Harry (that's Ginny Weasley, his one twue luv and Ron's baby sister).

For better or for worse, Harry Potter has always been a fan-oriented film franchise, with the various writers and directors behind the series often going out of their way to incorporate as much material as possible from Rowling's novels -- even if it slows the narrative to a crawl -- to placate her legions of very opinionated readers. On the one hand, it's undeniably satisfying to see specific scenes you loved in the books brought to life onscreen. In Deathly Hallows, Part 2, for example, I joined the rest of the audience in cheering on buffoon-turned-warrior Neville Longbottom when he finally seizes his opportunity to be a hero. The long-awaited moment where Ron and Hermione finally stop bickering and start lovin' is a crowd-pleaser as well. (Watson and Grint have never done a particularly great job selling their characters' simmering romantic feelings for each other, but affection for Ron and Hermione runs so high, it's been easy to overlook that.)

At the same time though, this approach means that the films sometimes get bogged down by unnecessary diversions or recreate problematic sequences from the books without finding ways of making them better. Seen on the big screen, the passage of Deathly Hallows that involves Harry having to make an enormous sacrifice to protect his friends feels even more like a mash-up of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Matrix Revolutions than it did on the page. The filmmakers also feel obligated to include Rowling's cheesy nineteen-years-later epilogue, which was an excusable indulgence in the novel, but borders on camp here thanks to some truly awful age makeup that's been slapped on the actors. Even the die-hard Potter fanatics around me audibly cracked up at several points during this scene and not because there were intentional laughs. Then again, they probably would have been just as vocal -- and far less happy -- if it had been left out. Such are the perils that come with putting the fans first.

While it's all too easy to poke fun at the film's earnestness and clunky dramaturgy, one can't deny that it holds the audience in the palm of its hand throughout, rewarding their years of affection with some of the series' most thrilling and emotional moments. Director David Yates has developed a surer hand behind the camera over the course of the four installments he's helmed and he handles the Battle of Hogwarts quite well, shooting it in the style of a Saving Private Ryan-like war movie, which, in many ways, it is. (It should be noted that the extended battle may be too intense for the youngest Potter fans, particularly considering that many of the casualties on the Hogwarts side are students.) And Radcliffe, whose admirable devotion to improving his craft has always made up for his wobbly performances, gets to play his best scene to date, a deeply affecting reunion with some most important people in his life. In the end though, perhaps the main feeling that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 inspires is relief -- relief that the series wraps up on a high note, as well as relief that the franchise is finally over.

Check out an interview with Matthew Lewis, better known as Neville Longbottom.

If you are worried about going into Harry Potter withdrawal, browse our Farewell to Hogwarts, find out best and worst moments and get our tips on how to fill the void.