By now we have been through seven Harry Potter books and seven Harry Potter movies. There is an eighth movie still to come. This movie franchise is reportedly the most successful ever made. So it stands to reason that the new movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One will be a huge success. Not so fast there, Bucko. Harry Potter saturation might finally have been achieved.
In this latest movie version of the young wizard's escapades the weight of the story is on the backs of Harry, Hermione and Ron (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint). These three young stars have not yet developed the charisma or acting talent to support such a heavy load. They make a valiant effort but the movie bogs down about half way through and never recovers, and it is mainly because these three can't give the film any energy.
The difficult-to-follow plot has everybody trying to keep Harry safe. They steer clear of Hogwarts and finally head to the outlands. There it is just Harry, Hermione and Ron trying to figure everything out. Harry knows Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) wants to kill him and he is determined he will not go down without a heroic fight.
Ron is pining away for Hermione and getting jealous of her and Harry's relationship. That puts a strain on the threesome's close bond, and if they ever needed to be close it is now. But then everything in this "first half" is a setup for something that might and probably will happen in the final chapter. You get the string of Ron's jealousy left hanging, as well as a million others. It is unsatisfying to say the least.
This film is also scarier than the others with slithering snakes running about and people being murdered right and left. You don't want to stand too close to Harry or you might be dispatched quickly. There is a major death just before the first half ends.
The movie is rated PG-13 for mild profanity and violence.
If you are not an expert in all things Harry Potter you might get a bit confused with all the frequent flashbacks. There is also a lot of talk about things that have happened in the past. There is no attempt made by Director David Yates to catch the audience up in any way. You are assumed to know what is happening and go from there.
This Harry movie needs an alive Dumbledore or some more scenes with Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) to spur the interest and the excitement. We get a taste of Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) but his time is much too limited.
If seeing Harry, Hermione and Ron battle danger on their own excites you, then you might get something out of this film. However, for everyone who wants the full cast involved this movie is not one of the best. It tells half the last story and is about half the entertainment the best Harry has been.
I scored Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 a hanging 5 out of 10.
Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com
The parts of the book that this movie covers are almost entirely only Ron, Harry, and Hermione. It wouldn't have made any sense to add the other character quite simply because there isn't any storyline for them to inhabit. In my opinion, those three actors have progressed remarkably over the course of the past ten years, and that showed in this movie. It would have been dead boring otherwise. And why should Yates have wasted time doing a recap of the past six movies? It's a series, therefore it is assumed that you have some sort of familiarity with the prequels. The fact that your main criticism is that other actors weren't as involved as you like is absurd and makes me wonder how well you actually know the Harry Potter storyline. I thought that it was by far one of the best Harry Potter movies.
I suspect that those who are fans of the series, including those who did not read the books, have already accepted Messrs. Radcliffe and Grint and Miss Watson in their roles. I, for one, am pleased at how capable they have turned out to be, and I think Miss Watson does turn in the performance that you seem to suggest she should have and did not.
The novel is problematic as source material for film. Harry Potter is primarily concerned with how he's to solve this vital puzzle lacking the clues that he would have expected his idol and mentor to provide. In addition, once the clues are solved, he is to proceed to the next phase which is likely to be a guarantee-less suicide mission.
So, how do you get that in without boring exposition? Isn't the wilderness and isolation the correct metaphor? We see from my predecessor that another fan thought the excisions, which I understood as necessary to meet the film's length, unforgivable. I forgive and am grateful nothing like the attack on the Weazley home was added as action beat.
If you like the ones that preceded you'll like this and look forward to Part II.