Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

After years of anticipation and excitement, it is finally the beginning of the end.  Since the release of the first book in 1997, people have been absolutely enthralled with Harry Potter and for good reason.  With the first of eight movies being released in 2001, part one of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released last week and has already accumulated $125.0M (Over $100M higher than the runner up, Megamind).  Just as a refresher, or for those who haven't seen the movies or read the books, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is placed just shortly after the death of Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) and follows Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) on their quest to vanquish Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) once and for all.  After having seen the sixth movie last summer, I was skeptical as to whether or not this movie would do the book justice.  When I found out they were splitting it into two parts, I was somewhat relieved; a great downfall of the sixth movie was that it cut out moments of great importance and didn't seem to really do The Half-Blood Prince justice.  However, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 was pleasantly surprising and left me in anticipation for the coming of the conclusion that is Harry Potter.

One clear improvement from the movie released last year is that they gave themselves room to really touch on all of the important details.  Certain details are still shut out and others are even ignored, but the movie really manages to touch each and every important moment and only skips over less important aspects of the movie.  What is even more impressive is that the movie manages to fill out the two and a half hour time block while seemingly nothing is going on.  For those that have read the book, the entire first half is essentially comprised of major events separated by long spans of time where the three main characters are trying to figure out what their next move is.  The same feeling translates into the movie, but not at any point in time do you feel that the movie is dragging its feet.  The movie successfully fills up the time slot and ends at a point which will not only fuel viewers anticipation, but may also be a surprising stopping point to readers.

While the movie still falls short with certain character interactions (such as that between Harry and Ginny) and doesn't utilize some of their stronger actors as much as one would hope (Bill Nighy and Alan Rickman among them), it finally makes that turn from a kid's movie to a more adult drama.  In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince there was a large amount of opportunity to make this turn and even have viewers on the edge of their seat in fear.  However, it seemed as though they tried to compensate the feeling of fear with awkward teen interaction and fluffy love triangles.  What Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1 finds strength in is that it knows when and how to make you feel sad/fearful/anxious/etc.  The depressing moments are sad and don't turn the corner with a quick one liner;the genuine moments make you feel the trio's friendship; and most importantly, the frightening moments have such a large scale and truly dark mood that they create scenes wrought with tension. 

Other standout points in the movie are the special effects and the cinematography.  The special effects have really taken a large leap and blend into the world almost seamlessly, and while you know some of the creatures and scenes are merely CGI, at times it's hard to pry yourself away from fantasy.  Never before have I been able to say anything about cinematography with any of the Harry Potter movies, but for this one, certain shots and angle make you notice how great the direction is.  The acting is still nothing above and beyond what it should be for a Harry Potter movie, but outside of Radcliffe's grimacing, you can tell that the primary acting cast is finally starting to fill out their adult shoes.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is a huge improvement from the let down last year.  It manages to transform into more of a drama while still keeping true to its fans.  It touches on just enough from the book to make readers feel as though they weren't cheated.  The special effects and directions are much better than in past films and the film was truly a joy to watch.  Without question, the whole world will be eagerly anticipating July 15, 2011 when Harry Potter finally comes to a close.