As the titular wizard (Daniel Radcliffe, needless to say) continues to battle his nemesis, evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), the epic struggle brings Harry's innate courage to the fore but also tests his willingness to sacrifice himself on behalf of others.

At Harry's side once again are pals Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) — friends acquired, of course, during his student days at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Once the scene of happier proceedings, during the tenure of its late headmaster, Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), Hogwarts is currently under the apparent misdirection of Dumbledore's enigmatic successor, Severus Snape (Alan Rickman).

Many of symbols deployed and themes highlighted in Rowling's narrative echo Scripture and comport with Judeo-Christian beliefs. Voldemort, for instance, is constantly accompanied by his pet snake Nagini, a slithering embodiment of wickedness.

Similarly, Voldemort's ambition to obtain immortality though illegitimate means parallels the serpent-inspired temptation to which Adam and Eve gave way. And here, as in salvation history, a path to redemption is opened by self-surrendering love.

As with many a time-honoured tale — ranging from The Wizard of Oz to The Lord of the Rings trilogy penned by devoutly Catholic novelist J.R.R. Tolkien — the element of sorcery in Rowling's story serves merely as a fictional device and a stimulant to the imagination. Even impressionable audience members are as unlikely to think that the wands and spells they see in use on screen are things to be dabbled with in the real world as they are to believe that they may someday graduate from Hogwarts.

Like a poignant graduation ceremony, this final chapter in the adventures that have taken Harry — and many of his fans as well — from childhood to full maturity manages to strike notes both elegiac and exciting, thereby bringing to an apt conclusion one of the iconic sagas of recent years.