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Here's a look at the new movie I saw this week.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, and Alan Rickman

Synopsis: Ten years and seven films have all led up to this — the epic conclusion to the cinematic sage of the Boy Who Lived. There is a reason the opening weekend of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” smashed all Box Office records, apart from the bump of being available in 3D. It feels like the conclusion of a journey with these characters. Though the “Harry Potter” narrative is stretched over eight films, in many ways it plays like a traditional trilogy. The films, though containing different events and sub-plots, are part of one continuous narrative. And Harry, Ron and Hermione sit at the heart of that narrative. And as with all good things, the story of “Harry Potter” must come to an end. If “Deathly Hallows Part 1” did a good job of setting the stakes and framing the tension, “Part 2” delivers the payoff that’s been 10 years in the making. It’s hard to believe how much has changed for the young actors and through the story since “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” first opened in November 2001. What started as a film following a group of children has morphed into something else, as Radcliffe, Grint and Watson have grown a great deal as performers. Director David Yates — who’s helmed every “Harry Potter” film since “Order of the Phoenix” — does a great job of bringing the series home. The first half of the finale set the chess pieces up, and the second half knocks them down. From the outset, “Part 2” is an action film, in ways unique to the series. Bringing closure can be difficult, especially after a series that generated as much interest and fan investment as “Harry Potter.” But the filmmakers, working off a script from Steve Kloves, who penned seven of the eight films, do a nice job putting the finishing touches on the epic journey. The film wraps up all the storylines and even offers a nice coda — in keeping with the ending to J.K. Rowling’s book — quite a feat for a movie that ranks as the shortest in the franchise. The performances are solid in this final film with Radcliffe, as he’s done through the years, giving an admirable performance in the central role. Fiennes does a nice job being his cinematic foil, and the final showdown between Harry and Voldemort is as satisfying as one would hope and expect. The other familiar faces do well in their roles too. Grint and Watson give another strong performance as Ron and Hermione, and all the characters audiences have grown attached to throughout the seven films return in one way or another for this final installment. It is a fitting end to a series that stands alone in what it’s accomplished. Though I had a few minor quibbles — such as the believability of the character effects employed in the coda sequence — “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” is a good film and a fitting end to the narrative of our favorite boy wizard.

Rating: PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence and frightening images.

Verdict: Four stars out of four.

Upcoming Releases:

July 22 — "Captain America: The First Avenger," "Friends With Benefits"

July 29 — "Cowboys and Aliens," "Crazy, Stupid Love," "The Smurfs"

August 5 — "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "The Change Up"

August 12 — "The Help," "30 Minutes or Less," "Final Destination 5," "Glee: The Concert Movie 3D"

August 19 — "Fright Night," "Conan The Barbarian," "One Day," "Spy Kids 4"

August 26 — "Our Idiot Brother," "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark," "Columbiana"