Rated PG-13

The eighth and final film of the Harry Potter series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” has the heavy task of providing three different endings. First, it wraps up the adventures Harry and his companions began in the first part of “Deathly Hallows,” released in 2010. It also wraps up the cinematic incarnation of the series, which began all the way back in 2001. But, perhaps most importantly, it’s the last new Harry Potter adventure we’re likely to see for a while. There are no more books or movies to look forward to (there is some sort of website, but what fun is that?), and unless J.K. Rowling decides to go back to the well in a few years, “Deathly Hallows: Part 2” may be the last dispatch from the wizarding world. 

As endings go, it’s a good one, though not without some difficulty. Director David Yates, who’s helmed the Potter series since the fifth film, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” had the tough job of wrangling Rowling’s sprawling seventh novel into two films. The first “Deathly Hallows” is more contemplative and full of angst than its sequel, which fires off magic curses first and delivers explanations second. It mostly works, although “Deathly Hallows: Part 2” is so concerned with racing to the inevitable, climactic battle between Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and the evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) that the smaller character touches that have made the series so great get lost in the shuffle.

“Deathly Hallows: Part 2” opens minutes after the final moments of part one. Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) have concluded their sojourn in the wilderness and realize they must return to Hogwarts, where they will find the last of the horcruxes, the magical devices that, when destroyed, will weaken Voldemort. But the Hogwarts they return to is not the whimsical place found in the series’ earlier movies. Now under the control of Headmaster Snape (Alan Rickman), the school is dreary and oppressive. Students march in neat little rows to and from class and discipline is meted out with fists and other implements. Voldemort isn’t far behind, of course, and as Harry scours the school, the dark wizard marshals his army and begins his final push to destroy Potter once and for all. 

Those battles are the main attraction in “Deathly Hallows: Part 2” and, for the most part, they don’t disappoint. Yates gives the siege of Hogwarts a deservedly epic treatment, and as waves of dark wizards, giants, and enormous spiders descend on the castle, the danger feels real and the grandeur is palpable. 

Harry and Voldemort’s final duel, though, lacks some of that snap. We know it’s important, but there’s little spirit. They tumble off cliffs and rickety bridges, wands flashing and exploding, but they fight alone, almost wordlessly, while their respective allies busy themselves someplace else. The staging suggests that the fight at the school, full of sharp characters, small acts of heroism, and some nice comedic moments, is the main event; the Harry-vs.-Voldemort fight is just a sideshow. 

That weakness is likely a result of trying to cram in so much from the book, but it’s too bad Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves couldn’t have slowed things down a bit and provided a little more lead-up to both battles. Nearly all the secondary characters get some great moments here, especially Maggie Smith, who’s both fierce and funny as she rallies the school’s defenses. Matthew Lewis, the once-bumbling-but-now-hunky Neville Longbottom, makes a heroic stand, and Julie Walters, the matronly Mrs. Weasley, has a nice bit in which she ruthlessly defends her daughter. 

But as the script rushes from one bit to the next, those moments feel perfunctory rather than grand. An early bank heist sequence set in the wizard world’s subterranean bank is exciting, but the best part comes near the end, as an escaped dragon perches momentarily on a roof and takes a deep, exultant breath. 

The cast makes up for the few lapses in the script. Everyone is on their A-game for “Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” from Radcliffe, Grint and Watson, who have all grown into fine actors, to supporting players like Rickman, Smith and Fiennes. Rickman gets some of the film’s best scenes as he transforms Snape, one of Harry’s long-standing adversaries, into a tragic hero with complex allegiances and complicated goals. 

Ultimately, it’s a fitting end for the series. When the first film was released a decade ago, Harry’s world was cheerful and bright, with only hints of menace lurking around the edges of whimsy. “Deathly Hallows: Part 2” is the opposite, with bits of light shining through the darkness. The actors, and the characters they play, have all matured, and the movies have traded Quidditch matches for brutal fights and a good amount of snogging. 

But when that dragon takes a deep breath or Maggie Smith gleefully sets an army of stone soldiers a-marching, it’s clear that light is still at the core of “Harry Potter.” Seven books, eight movies, and more than 10 years later, Harry and friends remain forever young.