But as the mystical Deathly Hallows are uncovered, and the friends battle dragons, goblins and the messiest room in existence to destroy Voldemort's soul, the biggest battle and the greatest sacrifice any one person can make will change all the characters lives forever.
In "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II" we have the show down that has been building over the last decade come to a climax: 'The Boy Who Lived' comes face to face with 'He Who Shall Not Be Named' in a final confrontation between good and evil.
The moodiness of Deathly Hallows: Part I is left behind as director David Yates pours immediacy and urgency into the movie, with the audience squirming in their seats just waiting for that final battle, where there can be only one survivor.
Part II opens right where the previous film left off, Lord Voldemort stealing the most powerful wand in the world, the Elder Wand, from the tomb of Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) with a quick cut to Hogwarts where the students are marched through a Hogwarts courtyard, watched closely by cloaked Dementors hovering over the school grounds. This is not the Hogwarts of the previous movies; this once homely and exciting school is no safer than anywhere else. These opening sequences remind us that Harry and his friends have more than just their lives at stake.
From this moment on the action does not stop. There is a daring heist, a dragon ride and reunion with old friends once the focus returns back to Hogwarts, and the final stand that is about to take place there.
It was wonderful to see the ever sweet, yet hilariously awkward Neville Longbottom emerge as one of the truest representations of courage. His character just screams the message that "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear" Mark Twain.
He is one boy who does not let his fear stop him from doing what is good and right.
All the supporting characters get a wonderful send off with exciting, poignant and powerful moments given to each.
Mrs Weasley has a fantastic scene where she proves that mother's are powerful adversaries not to be messed with when protecting their children.
Yet it is Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), who is given the most wonderful redemption. The Judas, the betrayer that killed Dumbledore, is unmasked as one of the bravest and strongest heroes of the story and the movie does a beautiful job of portraying how even unrequited love can be a power for good.
But this is Harry Potter's story, and his sacrifice and acceptance of what is required of him, is what this last decade has been all about. Daniel Radcliff shows wonderful maturity in the role and carries more of the story's focus than in any other movie, stepping up to what is demanded of him, and performing beautifully.
I won't give anymore away, just on the off chance there is somebody out there who hasn't already read the ending or seen it in the cinemas yet.
But rest assured that those who do survive give the series the proper closure it deserves.
A shout out needs to go to the technical team, with the visuals spectacular, the editing masterful and the score expressive, powerful and poignant.
So, as with all good things it must come to end, and as endings go, Harry Potter is an example of how to go out with a bang; a fitting finale for a powerful story.
It should be noted that this final instalment is the darkest yet. The action has been stepped up and so too has the violence and the gore. This movie is not for little kids, just as the cast has grown up, so has the audience this movie is aimed at.
There is a fairly graphic scene of one of the characters being murdered by Voldermort and his companion Nagini the snake. We also see the corpses of several characters which could be distressing to many children. A couple of our characters share passionate and lingering kisses but the language is still relatively clean and there are no drug references.
Obviously this is a fantasy movie and is based in a world full of the mystical and magical but this is a movie for the fans and it is one that they will no doubt enjoy.
I give 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II' 4 ½ out of 5 stars.
Language Light
Violence High
Gore Moderate
Sexual references Light
Drugs Light
Fantasy themes Very High
