Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part II gets a terrific, but spoilery, trailer.

If you've read the book you know what to expect and will get that much more of a chill out of certain moments. If you haven't, you might want to think twice about watching this surprisingly spoiler-filled trailer. You might especially want to avert your eyes at the 1:02 mark (and 1:28 hints at a major crowdpleasing moment to boot). Either way, it's another knockout piece of marketing selling the grim finality that is most certainly in store. The sheer scale on display is impressive, especially for the series that generally didn't thrive on larger-than-life action scenes. As I've said a zillion times, this franchise was about character and relationships, something not forgotten in the grim voice over that plays in this 110-second piece. If part II matches the heartbreaking bleakness of part I with the big-scale action that the book demands, then we may be looking at a serious Oscar contender as this one-of-a-kind franchise wraps up its decade-long run. It truly is the end of an era in more ways than one, and the Harry Potter series is truly one of the ages. This one finishes up on July 15th.

Scott Mendelson