I don’t know what I’d want from a perfect finale to a franchise in my eyes cause I can’t think of one franchise where the final film is my favourite or where I have no slight disappointments with. Maybe it’s literally an impossible task because some of the moments can feel forced and cringey to me (this can change depending on context of watching it though), but they are kind of necessary also in a finale and it could feel flat or anticlimactic without them. Like, it feels like they’re trying too hard to give every character their moment a little and in turn it feels a little insincere at times but it would also feel unjust to not have those characters present and relevant in the final scenes. 

I’m too tired to pinpoint every aspect that I do or don’t like but beyond the slight feeling of forced climactic drama (as I’m writing this I know that’s an unfair complaint), I don’t like the very ending scene, 19 years in the future - that definitely does feel forced and unrewarding to me, whilst also not having a magical feel to it, which is a shame but doesn’t ruin the film at all, I just wish it wasn’t the very last scenes of the franchise. 

The moments I do like are any time Snape and Mcgonigal are on screen. Mcgonigal’s ‘moments’ in this feel completely natural and true to her character and earned. Snape solidifies himself as one of the best characters and the flashback scenes where you see his true motivations and piece together many pieces of the puzzle is definitely the highlight of this film for me. I also love the moment when, before Harry goes to the forest, Harry and Hermione hug on the steps and Ron and Harry give each other a sort of momentous gaze. I can’t help but reflect in this moment, on the 3s journey together and, despite not being at the very end of the film, this is the emotion and poignancy I want from the ending so I do get that moment which I love still. 

Overall I appreciate its hard to wrap up all the characters arcs nicely and adequately with a limited run time and a lot of things to juggle and I’m holding a high bar because of how much I love these films. I paused this at one point and I was 1 hour 35 mins in and it felt like about a third of that time which shows how enthralling it is. This is true of all the films - I remember in my head thinking some of them were closer to, or even under 2 hours because I remembered them feeling not long at all but it is just because the time flies by when in this world. I’m annoyed the new series is being made because now some people’s introduction to Harry Potter will be that rather than the films or the books but to know that this series is always there to come back to means it doesn’t really matter I guess.