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I enjoyed this movie but I need to get a few things off
my chest. First, director David Yates and friends did a wonderful job at
recreating the final novel to film, however this movie has quite a bit
of “filler” to it. At times, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One
reminds of The Lord of the Rings where Frodo Baggins and Sam
Gamgee keep walking and walking and
walking. This in turn is
replicated by Harry and Hermione as they continue to evade the Death
Eaters and look for a way to destroy the Horcrux.
Second, with some careful editing, I personally believe
that the final book could have been sustained as one movie and Hollywood
reasoning aside, this would have been possible. Although I’m sure the
“box office” was happy to split the movie, even though it was a little
long. This gamble has paid off because the first session of Harry Potter
at IMAX in Melbourne sold out faster than you could say a tongue
twister. Lastly, just when the movie has captured you, hook, line and
sinker, it ends and thankfully, they refrained from displaying the words
“… to be continued” like Back to the Future 2. So enough rambling… what
about the movie?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One
was a decent movie which really came to life on IMAX. The IMAX
experience does enhance the movie and for part two, the movie
will be available in full 3D which is something to look forward to, just
like all waiting between movies. However, unlike the previous films
which revolved around Hogwarts, we now see a bigger world of magic and
some of the questions from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince are
finally answered… even though more questions are thrown into the mix. It
works well though.
As just about everyone in the world has read Harry
Potter, I’ll still keep the spoilers to a minimum but the story begins
with a bang as a group of close magical associates to Harry plan on
getting him to safety in order to avoid the all seeing eyes of
Voldermort.
Unfortunately things go awry and after a certain wedding gets
interrupted, Harry, Ron and Hermione decided to take matters into their
own hands by searching for the remaining Horcruxes of Voldermort which
are littered throughout the lands. Not only are these items the key to
Voldermort’s power, they must somehow be destroyed in order to end the
terror of Harry’s nemesis.
This is where the Deathly Hallows comes into
play, three magical items created by Death and Voldermort wants control
of one of them. Through a carefully scripted CGI animated moment in the
film, Hermione recounts the story of the Deathly Hallows and how three
brothers attempted to cheat death.
In return, they were given a
resurrection stone, a cloak of invisibility and an unbeatable wand. Voldermort of course is after the wand to finally defeat his thorn,
Harry James Potter! Even if you have read the novels, you will still be
enthralled by this movie and best of all, it’s still quite accessible to
those who have never touched a J.K. Rowling book.
The characterisation between the three protagonists,
Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grints)
is a treat to watch and more significantly, these young actors have
truly blossomed as actors in their own right. The star of Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One is Hermione. As opposed to
the brash, comical and headstrong Harry and Ron, Hermione is their light
and sense of reason.
She also steals many of the scenes in this movie
that really pull at your emotionally heartstrings such as asking Harry
to stay with her to grow old or making her parents forget that she ever
existed. It’s the scenes like this that make Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows such a good movie but let’s not forget the villains!
Another interesting performance is Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix
Lestrange, the vile witch of Voldermort. There is quite a disturbing
scene with Ballatrix and Hermione near the climax of the movie and if
ever there was an actress to play this character, Bonham Carter nails it
perfectly. The villains are definitely more vile in this instalment of
Harry Potter and we even see quite a bit more of Voldermort... bless his
cold hearted soul.
The character Rufus Scrimgeour (Bill Nighy) sums up this
movie perfectly and to quote a line, “these are dark times… there’s no
denying” which mirrors the torturous scene at Lucius Malfoy's Castle as
Voldermort orders his viper Nagini to consume Muggle Studies teacher
Charity Burbage. Nagini has another awesome scene later on during the
movie which made almost everyone in the audience jump out of their seats
which was good timing. It may be dark but you're pretty much guaranteed
a resolution... midway through 2011 which isn't that too long of a wait.
Even though the movie is a little long (156 minutes), it
is a well written story and in all this darkness, there is still a touch
of comedy and some great character development which will guide you
through this movie. To compliment the wonderful trio of Radcliff, Watson
and Grints, there are some entertaining and sometimes over the top
performances by some of the more veteran actors such as John Hurt, Alan
Rickman and Ralph Fiennes as Voldermort.
Finally, you have the amazing
sets, special effects and cinematography. Director David Yates and co
should be commended in bringing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
to life. Not once was I bored while watching this movie and it held our
attention from the action packed beginning to Voldermort’s victory
scream at the end. However, if you wish to treat yourself to the best, I
strongly recommend you see this movie on IMAX because if you don’t,
you’re not a true Potter fan are you? |
