The Part 1 at the end of the title makes this review seem a bit premature. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is literally the first half of a five-hour film. Instead of an old school intermission, we were sent home for seven months with no real conclusion at all. So, I’m gonna review this under the belief that the second half will be more of the same and not a random u-turn.
Now, of course, what was omitted from the book can randomly show up in Part 2 but since the plot went in somewhat the same order I think I’m safe to nitpick. The movies have blown off the Dursleys many times, so not getting to see Dudley be nice to Harry is no big loss. The movie decides to give Hedwig a more noble death instead of being an innocent bystander but this is put in place of Harry using expelliarmus to reveal himself to Voldemort. There is much less polyjuice potion and no use of the invisibility cloak. This allowed us to see more of the main actors but makes them seem much more reckless than they were in the book. Sadly, we don’t get to hear the annoyed dialogue of Phineas Nigellus Black. This leaves a hole in the Silver Doe plot but that’s for Part 2 to explain or ignore. We do get to see Harry play with the cool mirror shard throughout the film … too bad he was never given the mirror by Sirius in the Order of the Phoenix so he just seems to have a random magical mirror shard. None of this bothers me in the slightest.
One of the many sad consequences of the series ending is I won’t get to see anymore random great British actors popping up with each new film. The opening scene is the dulcet tones of Bill Nighy giving a speech as the new Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour. He may have only been in a couple of scenes but any Nighy is always appreciated. Luna needed a father so they brought in Rhys Ifans. If he was good enough for Little Nicky and Formula 51, he is good enough for Harry Potter. I also need to point out the smaller parts for Peter Mullan and David O’Hara for their portrayals of the Death Eaters, Yaxley and Runcorn. And even smaller parts were given to Rade Serbedzija and Jamie Campbell Bower but I hope Part 2 may have more of Gregorovitch and Grindelwald. Goddamn seven-month wait…
Finally after ten years of movies and lots of growing up, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint carry this entire movie on their very capable backs. They have reached adulthood as actors and are also working with serious and emotional material throughout the movie. The shocking performance was Rupert Grint bringing a lot more darkness to Ron Weasley than I would ever expect him to deliver. Way to be more than the guy in the background as Harry and Hermione move the plot forward. Along those lines, as usual, Emma Watson gets so much screen time you would think that the stories are Harry Potter and Hermione Granger and the Deathly Hallows. Eh, it’s worth it. The movie is full of these little moments of Hermione dealing with her grief and Emma is just phenomenal in each and every one of them. Daniel Radcliffe has proven to be up to the task of Harry Potter for multiple films now. Skipping past all the emotionally heavy moments, I love his comedic timing. The way he reacted to Hermione figuring out why Dumbledore left him the sword or how he denied having her wand were just perfect choices. I can’t wait to see him get put through the damn ringer in the final movie.
It wasn’t just the abilities of the Potter and friends actors that are the highlight of the Deathly Hallows: Part 1; there were scenes from the book that I was dying to see and the film delivered. Starting from the ending, Dobby’s death is one of the most powerful moments in the book and somehow they were able to reintroduce Dobby after his absence in the last four movies and make his death an absolute kick in the groin. I love Dobby. Then you have the creepy as hell locket attack that turned Harry and Hermione into Lord of the Rings-style elves while they were making out. They were so pretty and shiny. The telling of The Tale of the Three Brothers, now with animation, exceeded my expectations on every level. Then you have the scenes that were not in the book. Hermione wiping her parent’s memories was heartbreaking. Harry and Hermione dancing were hilarious. And all off the locations they camped at were beautifully shot. I just thought Britain meant rainy and London. Who knew?
The seven month wait for the conclusion of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is painful to even write about in this review. I need to see how they conclude this series on film. They've exceeded my expectations over and over again so I just want to sit back and enjoy the ride.
10 out of 10
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