Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 1 Review

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 1

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 1 the end seems definitely near. From the first frame the message is evident. Voldemort, the villain formally known as “He Who Must Not be Named,” is now mentioned quite frequently actually and never in very pleasant context. The saintly wizard, Dumbledore, has fallen and there is no one to stand between the Dark One and our good Harry. Nearly every minute of the film is brimming with doom and gloom (even the Warner Bros. logo that opens the production is rusting and rotting) and the tension filled anticipation is almost unbearable. This is what we’ve been waiting for yet, considering this is only half of the story; the book will not be closed after this two and a half hour film. While the conclusion of the nearly decade-old series is still a few months away, Deathly Hollows Part 1 is the beginning of the end of an amazing cinematic journey.

Harry Potter Part 7 Part 1 opens with the dastardly Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) finding his place by the side of his evil master, Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). After a failed attempt, Voldemort now knows that he must find a new way to defeat young Harry as both of their wands share the same phoenix feather core. In this fantasy world, these are the types of things that people concern themselves with. Voldemort begins a secret quest to possess a legendary item that will allow him to best his enemy. Meanwhile, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is now truly public enemy no. 1 and can’t even leave his home without an army at his side. He has learned that Voldemort has hidden parts of his soul in various objects called Horcruxes and if he has any hopes to defeat him, he must collect and destroy them all.

Potter is joined, as always, by his ever-faithful friends Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and the three of them travel both the Muggle and Wizarding worlds searching for these magical items. There is no final year at Hogwarts, the school that was the setting for all the previous films, and, alas, no security or sense of home for our hero. Harry realizes that he must face his enemy and destiny alone and find out if he is truly the chosen one.

Deathly Hollows greatest asset is the departure from structure and formula. This is credited to author J.K. Rowling who wrote the bestselling books that the films have been based. Without Hogwarts and this year’s new Dark Arts teacher, this film breathes new life into the franchise. Nothing can be taken for granted and nothing is familiar. This allows for the film to take off running and no prior Potter film has such a quick-paced first act. The action is perfectly executed by director David Yates who has taken the reins since the fifth film (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) and has given these last few films a sense of continuity that has affected the franchise for the better.

All three of the main actors have grown up before our eyes during the course of the series. They began as prepubescent children and now finish as young adults. Of the three, Grint has become my favorite. He possesses real presence in Deathly Hollows and gives the film heart. As Ron, he sells the serious stuff like a pro and delivers much of the laughter. Hopefully Radcliffe will able to shake the Potter persona and enjoy a career now. It can go either way. While Mark Hamill is still Luke Skywalker to many, Harrison Ford is just Harrison Ford.  We shall see.

Stretching the final book into two films makes sense both artistically and financially. It is nice the movie isn’t rushed, as so many of the others films in the series have been, and can take its time getting to where it is going. There are points where the filmmakers take a little too much liberty with this freedom, however, and the middle of the film sags a bit. A fifteen-minute shave would have been a positive. Also, the studios, I’m sure, will enjoy the extra billion or so dollars the second part of Deathly Hollows will generate. It will be a sad moment when everything comes to an end on July 15^th, 2011 and the most heartbroken of all will no doubt be the movie executives that will finally have to say goodbye to their beloved cash machine.