"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" by David Yates - movie review

What can be said about Harry Potter? The situation with reviewing the Harry Potter series is always a complex task, because it's hard to concentrate on the film alone, not taking into account the whole series and where it goes - not to mention comparisons with the books that many times surpass all renditions. And in the light of the fact that "The Deathly Hallows" is only the first part of a larger work, things get even harder. As a self-produced work this first part is not a particularly successful film. It is slightly out of focus, at times unnecessarily prolonged, which leads to a slightly slower pace, and it is quite possible for some people to suffer, despite some interesting action episodes, among which the most persuasive persecution of the streets of London. Another disadvantage is that perhaps this is the whole series movie that requires the most knowledge of what has happened so far so you can get a 100% view of what's going on. Personally, I've watched all the movies, plus I've read the books - including the last one - and at times I was a little tangled up in a few details. Heroes, objects, events ... ah, there's not much.

If we put it aside, I can say that "The Deathly Hallows" is "from the same thing". If you have watched the last two movies in the series before this film, it will be very easy to find out what I mean. I imagine, however, that you have never read the novels about Harry and your only clash with the universe were the first two films filled with childish naivety. In that case, you just have no idea what this is about. And the last piece of "innocence and magic" is gone. There is no sweet candy, no quidditch, no food feasts in the big hall of Hogwarts - which I think is "what Harry Potter is all about" - it's not even Hogwarts. Even the great theme of John Williams is missing because it's too ... inspiring? What we have is darkness, troubled atmosphere, loneliness, self-sacrifice, pain and death. It is true that in the previous two films there was such a thing, but not to such an extent. In addition, "The Deathly Hallows" - despite its flaws, it is a better film than them. "The Phoenix Order" personally is the weakest link in the whole series, which comes up after the excellent "The Fiery Goblet" - both the book and the film are among the best - and at least I do not see any sense of it, except in this infamous dull way to get rid of an interesting hero. "The Half-Blood Prince" ruined one of the most important moments in the book and deprived us of a potentially excellent cinematographic moment - the final battle of Hogwarts - and it was 153 minutes of "talking heads".

I do not see any sense in doing some in-depth analysis of what the film looks like. The gloomy vision is excellent, the locations of Harry, Hermione and Ron's "travel trips" look remarkable, and the effects are pretty high, especially when compared to the first films. Well, there's something to do here and there, but it's pure penetration. For the actors, the situation is the same - so far, you should have made it clear what to expect. I just want to mention that I think here is Daniel Radcliffe's best performance in the whole series so far, which is commendable but does not change my mind that he is the weakest actor in the whole series. Finally, as you know, the best British actors are widely represented in the movies, and the latest additions are Bill Nay - with a short, but always excellent appearance, and Rissefans as the father of the crazy Moon. For the final, as part of a bigger picture, "The Deathly Hallows" is doing its job perfectly and prepares us for what we are all waiting for - the clash between Voldemort and Harry Potter, which will necessarily survive only one. The fans will be happy, and the rest are details.

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