I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at a midnight showing on Thursday. After much contemplation on this film I now bring my review to you today.
2010 seems to be the year where franchises go to die. So far we've had Toy Story 3, Saw 3D and now the beginning of the end for the enormously popular Harry Potter Franchise: Harry Potter and The Deatly Hallows Part One.
This review may get a bit confusing for those who have never read a HP book or seen a HP film, so bear with me as I try to make this as newbie friendly as possible. Of course, I can't go over every little detail of the previous films and, unfortunately, that's whats required in order to understand this wonderfully dark piece of art. So, before you run out to view this one I highly reccommend that, if you've never seen a HP film before, you run out and get caught up. Trust me, it'll make the sentimental moments and some of the exposition easier to follow.
HPATDHP1 (Wow, what an abbreviation huh...maybe I should jus go with HPDH1) begins where Half-Blood prince left off: With Dumbledore dead and several Horcruxes (Soul containers) scattered about that need to be found and destroyed. After several attacks from Death Eaters (A nasty bunch of Voldemort followers that are after Harry) Harry, Ron, and Hermoine decide to go on a hunt for the remaining horcruxes and destroy them in an effort to weaken Voldemort (The horcruxes contain pieces of voldemorts soul, thus with each one they destroy the weaker Voldemort will get).
The acting seen here is quite possibly the best seen in a HP film to date. The characters go through some interesting changes. Their relationships are inevitably strained as their loved ones are killed off and tough decisions are made. The most satisfying character arc is that of Ron in this film. He has several surprising moments that redifine his relationship with Harry, his best friend throughout the franchise. Harry and Hermoine's relationship is also redefined in this film in some surprising ways. Rupert Grint (Ron), Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), and Emma Watson (Hermoine) have evidently matured with each new film that was released, so the acting done by the three here is quite convincing and comes across as genuinely human (The scene at the beginning in which Hermoine has to erase her parents memories of her in order to protect them is especially painful and heart-wrenching to watch). It is made clear that these characters are going through trying times and are finding out new things about themselves. Rounding out the cast are the amazing David Thewlis as Remus Lupin; one of Harry's old teachers and one of his protectors; Helena Bonham Carter as the despicable and dirty Bellatrix Lestrange; Tom Felton as Harry's former classmate and reluctant bad guy Draco Malfoy; and Bill Nighy as head of Ministry of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour.
Deathly Hallows is by far the most sentimental and reminiscinent Harry Potter film to date. Several items (Like the golden snitch from the first film) and characters (Dolores Umbridge and Dobby the House Elf) from previous films reappear to help flesh out the story and take it in a new direction. I, for one, was ecstatic to see Dobby back again. He was one of the best parts of The Chamber of Secrets and his prescence here helps to raise the film up to a higher degree. While he isn't necessarily a lead player, he is a crucial element to the story and shares a good amount of screentime with Grint, Watson, and Radcliffe. His ultimate character arc is quite sad, but still uplifting nontheless.
HPDH1 is a darkly magical film that dares to focus on the human element instead of on magic (a decision that other Potter films did not make). I thought that this was a welcome change that made the stroy here all the more engrossing and watchable. HPDH1 still boasts some impressive effects work including a Dementor scene and a showdown between Ron and what lies in one of the horcruxes. Yet another surprising addition to this film is an exquisite animated portion that helps to explain the legend of the Deathly Hallows. The portion is done using CGI but looks hand-drawn. It is one of the most surprising pieces in this film and one of the best as well. Deathly Hallows does drag its feet at times, but due to the focus on the characters this is never more than mildly annoying.
With all this said, there are a few dissapointments found in HPDH1. The main souce of disapointment for me is that the majestic Hogwarts Castle is never viewed once during the 146 minute running time of this film. Another annoyance is, with all the information they throw at you in this film it's kind of hard not to get a bit confused every now and then (yet another reason why rewatching the previous films before viewing this one is a MUST).
Overall, while HPDH1 may not be the best Potter film to date, it still remains one of the best in the franchise due to its stunning special effects, strong character development, surprising character twists, and some cool sentimental elements thrown in for good measure. HPDH1 is a film that I highly reccommend to any Harry Potter fan.
4/5 Stars
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