Note: To be enjoyed to its fullest, this review must be read with a thick English accent.
I have seen all the previous films, but I have read none of the books. The reason for this is that books are usually better than the films they inspire and I wanted the movies to motivate me in reading thousands of pages and be awed by the words.
The problem is that I didn’t enjoy any of the Harry Potter films. All except for The Goblet of Fire and The Order of the Phoenix, which I enjoyed more. Not to say that they were particularly good movies for me, but they were more interesting and fun, and almost made me want to read the complete works of J.K Rowling. “Almost” means I didn’t.
The worst of the series, for me, was The Half-Blood Prince, which was a complete bore from start to finish. I mean, why Harry couldn’t simply ASK Dumbledore who the f*** the Half-Bloody Prince is, because the movie would be over? That’s a pretty thin excuse for a screenplay. And just when our bifocal-wearing “hero” finally realizes he could ask his old friend, the man dies, after 12$ and almost three hours of my wastable time that I could’ve spent plucking my chest hair, going out for a quick session of waterboarding or watching reruns of Dancing with the Stars.
Speaking of heroes, Hermione is the real hero of this series. She solves all the problems while Ron, drooling, stares at her boobs and Harry, also drooling, looks up at the skies looking for Death Eaters in the hopes he can cast the only spell he apparently knows, Expecto Petronum.
So, as one can imagine, it is with some reluctance that I stepped into the theatre last night.
Maybe it was because my expectations were low, but The Deathly Hallows – Part 1 was actually very good, probably the best film of the franchise.
Since the second film of the Harry Potter franchise, all have been darker than the previous, according to everyone. Well, Deathly Hallows is no exception. In fact it’s the darkest of them all. Many characters die, some more important than others, the film begins with somewhat of a torture scene involving a very cold Severus Snape, and we even get to see blood in this one!
Most noticeable is the acting performance of the main cast, which has been greatly improved. The year break seems to have paid off, with Daniel Radcliff doing theatre and Rupert Grint featured in a movie or two. Emma Watson has been great from the start, although her constant frown in Deathly Hallows will tire some people. Hey, she’s sad ok!
The story revolves around Harry being the target of Voldemort’s minions. The Dark Lord needs to kill him, you see, to regain his full power. oooOooOooh.
But Harry now knows of a way to destroy his arch nemesis once and for all, and he sets out to find the last of the Horcruxes and destroy them, with the help of his friends Hermione and Ron.
However, through their travels and escapes, Harry, Hermione and Ron stumble upon information concerning the Deathly Hallows, three powerful magic items given to three brothers by Death itself. The Elder Wand, the most powerful wand in existence, the Resurrection Stone, which can bring the dead back to life, and the Cloak of Invisibility which, as the name implies, can make one invisible. Someone with these magical artifacts can actually become the Master of Death. Guess who wants them for himself… That’s right. RON!
No, I’m kidding.
It’s Voldemort of course.
So now Harry needs to find the Horcruxes and the Deathly Hallows before Voldemort, or… the movie is over.
Here’s where I go “WTF?”
Even though Harry uses a cloak of invisibility throughout the entire series, no one in Deathly Hallows even wonders if the cloak they’ve been using for ten years is that same cloak of invisibility. WTF?
The story feels more like an adventure compared to the other movies. Being out of Hogwarts and surviving on their own, without the safety net of teachers, brings an extra sense of peril for the teenagers, peppered with a few very funny scenes, including one at the very beginning when all of Harry’s friends drink a polyjuice potion that turns them all into Harry clones. The process of this is hilarious and very well made.
There is some truly beautiful filming in Deathly Hallows. Hermione sure knows where to plant her tent: on the edge of a rocky cliff overlooking a valley of hills, in a picturesque forest of tall, thin trees beside an icy, slow-flowing river. Wiki says filming took place entirely in England, but I suspect many of those awesome shots were done in New-Zealand, as some are reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
As is the case for the previous Harry Potter films, the best thing going for Deathly Hallows is the cast. A lineup like this is simply biblical: Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Michael Gambon, John Hurt, Brenden Gleeson, David Thewlis, Rhys Ifans, Miranda Richardson and Jason Isaacs.
The only ones missing are Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Judy Dench!
The special effects are also very good, with the CGI characters of Dobby and Kreater taking the cake. The filmmakers could’ve drop Verne Troyer in a suit and we wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
The movie ends with a good cliff hanger but it doesn’t feel like a middle part, aside from the fact that the story doesn’t end here. It lasts almost three hours, including previews, but I could’ve taken another thirty minutes or more. It’s that good.
There is still a lot of dialog but I found myself much more interested in what the characters had to say then I did for the previous Harry Potter movie. Ron’s whining was less annoying, probably because his reasons are good this time around and he is actually useful here.
I enjoyed the fact that they are travelling outside of Hogwarts for a change and the real danger they are in this time.
Finally, Voldemort is much more prevalent in Deathly Hallows and Ralph Fiennes is a really great actor. He is creepy and evil, a perfect performance for the character.
Until next time…
8.5/10
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