NEARLY a decade after the first Harry Potter film opened in cinemas, the boy wizard is retiring from public view.

Giving the muggles their final fix of Hogwarts is St Helens-born director David Yates, who aimed to give this second installment of JK Rowling’s final book an operatic flavour, after the road movie-style first part.

And, boy, has he succeeded – with epic battle scenes, that somehow manage to be beautiful as well as terrifying, contrasting with moments of reflective sadness.

Part 2 opens where the first left off – with Potter mourning the death of Dobby the house elf as Lord Voldemort discovers the all-powerful Elder Wand.

It strolls along for a while as the three protagonists plan how to get their hands on the horcruxes – items fused with parts of the evil wizard’s soul.

But then talking gives way to action as they break into Gringotts Bank, nearly get killed three times in 10 minutes and eventually escape on the back of a white dragon in a breathtaking explosion of CGI.

Due to this being the second part of a single novel, the story arc feels a little clunky, with the plot made up of one escapade after another, and you need to have more than a smattering of Potter knowledge to understand what’s going on.

The use of 3-D is restrained, enhancing action scenes such as the dragon bursting out of Gringotts and an attack by Voldemort’s pet snake, while not encroaching on the more intimate moments.