Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 3D

I made the mistake of viewing 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2' in 3D before viewing 'Part 1' in the same format. I wanted to complete the series, having not seen the final film. I had also heard the 3D was so poorly conceived and executed that Warner refused to release it in theaters. So, bearing that in mind, I cannot say in good conscience that this disc is the worst 3D release of the year.

It definitely is in the running, though, and my expectations for 'Part 1' are now so very dashed that I don't exactly know how I'm going to go in there with any enthusiasm whatsoever. This not only puts a hamper on my hopes to see the previous 'Harry Potter' films converted, but for any future title done by anyone who had a hand in making this film look this awful. They went to work on the most successful film franchise ever, a billion upon billion dollar series of films, and wiped their noses on them. I still don't even know how Warner, who have made an insane amount of money off of this franchise, didn't just shoot in 3D from the start.

Where to begin? I suppose we can start with the fact that almost every single shot of Voldemort is ghosted like crazy, as he exudes some kind of magical aura to the left and right of his face at all times. Of course, there are plenty of other moments with ghosting, particularly in any layer not in the very forefront of the screen. The opening shots with Snape are awful, so dark you get little to no clarity on clothing, no detail in the shadows, making the cloaks a bit too absorbent, and the Diagon Alley scenes (amongst many others) suffer the same fate. Dark shots, of which there are many, are a major issue, and the blacks that adorn the villains all suffer dramatically, while skin tones and detail also drop down the tubes.

There are random shots that feel like they're being attacked with serious edge enhancement (no, not ghosting), on top of the jaggies that regularly attack straight hair, Harry's glasses, or damn near every wand or dragon horn, while the stairs in Hogwarts have a horrible shimmer in one shot. Did I mention the blown out contrast levels that affect the majority of the film? Yeah, they don't translate well in 3D. Detail levels are never all that solid, while facial features are often non-existent. See, not only does this failed 3D experience give off the appearance of edge enhancement, but it also just sucks the life right out of the characters. By the midpoint in the film, with Snape's scene with Voldemort, it's hard to not notice how very waxy and inhuman Alan Rickman's face looks, and shots on Ron later in the scene suffer the same plastic fate. Of course, that's not even the worst part, as skin has an odd gradient to it, as dirt or blood makes characters look like speckled horses rather than just dirty, with two tones of skin, and it's distracting and impossible to stop noticing once you spot it.

So, since the 3D screws up every portion of the video, it should at least be interesting and engaging, right? Oh, so very wrong! The added dimension is often barely noticeable, depth is awful, detail levels in the "deepest" layers are completely lacking, moments that could have had pop or flair have absolutely nothing to them, and...look, there's only one stand out shot, and that's the fire sequence in the Hogwarts battle. This is like watching a bootleg Blu-ray that someone tried to convert to 3D in Microsoft Paint. A spectacular failure. You know what would have been great? Seeing Hogwarts at night under siege, with plenty of depth for the random intricacies, not a flat, detail-less picture.

Disc 1

• Focus Points (HD, 26 min.) – This is a collection of short featurettes that covers a variety of behind the scenes material. The first is "Aberforth Dumbledore" which covers the transformation of actor Ciarán Hinds and how they made him resemble Michael Gambon. There's a costume featurette where costume designer Jany Temime discusses the way she designs the costumes based on the characters and script. Following that is "Harry Returns to Hogwarts," which spotlights the scene between Harry and Snape in the Great Hall. Something of note here is to see the actual warm lighting that was present when the movie was filmed, compared to the after-effect teal that was applied in post to give the movie a darker more sinister feel. "The Hogwarts Shield" covers the CG creation of the force field created by the teachers at the school. "Room of Requirement Set" shows the immensity of the actual set constructed of individual props. Like an antique store exploded. "The Fiery Escape" covers the stunts performed by the actors during the great fire in the Room of Requirement. "Neville's Stand" not only discusses Neville standing up to Lord Voldemort near the end but it also goes over Neville's evolution as a character, and we get some great insight into Ralph Fiennes' acting process here. Finally, "Molly Takes Down Bellatrix" features actresses Julie Walters and Helena Bonham Carter going at it on set during their witch duel to the death.


• Pottermore (HD, 1 min.) – A commercial for the online experience called 'Pottermore' with J.K. Rowling teasing fans about even more 'Potter'-filled fun.


• Final Farewells From the Cast (HD, 3 min.) – A few of the big name actors reminisce about the last decade working on these movies. Tears are shed. That's a wrap!

Disc 2

• Deleted Scenes (HD, 6 min.) – There are quite a few good scenes in this short six minutes. Scenes that would have added a bit more to the movie and could've been used for some kind of director's cut if possible. There's a scene that explains much more about where Hermione got clothes that looked like Bellatrix's. There's a scene that gives a better explanation about the mirror Harry has been carrying around all this time. Another extended scene with Aberforth that shows his deeper disdain he had for his brother. And a comical scene where the Syltherin students are locked in the Hogwarts dungeon.