Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - 2010

Note: This is not the last review of my Harry Potter marathon, I still must go back and review the Prisoner of Azkaban in the next dew days.

Receiving a 79% approval rating and an average rating of 7.1/10 on Rotten Tomatoes, I can only assume one thing. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is not only the best Harry Potter of the series, but easily the most underrated. Yes, it's deliberately slow pace my be a turn off for some viewers, but what I cannot understand is why people cannot get a hold of the concept that this is a set up for the final film. I mean, do you really expect it to be an extremely fast paced film with a lot of action? That would only take away from what Yates is going to do in the last movie.


The end is nearing, that is quite obvious as the films no longer are centered around Hogwarts. Voldemort is growing stronger, and is now attempting to track Harry down while he is in control of the Ministry of Magic. This means everyone has to work together to keep Harry safe so Voldemort does not take over the world. Meanwhile, Harry, Ron, and Hermione decide to go their own way and destroy the remaining horcruxes, and without Dumbledore's help it has all become harder than ever.


Very nearly everything about this film is perfect. David Yates' direction is fantastic, by far his best work yet, and artistically I think he does a very fine job as well. Like I said, his pacing is very slow, but that is alright because it is nothing but build up. It's like a horror film, you don't want to jump right into the action, then it is not scary. You have to build the suspense first. Same concept here, all Yates is trying to do is build up the story for the final movie. No, Deathly Hallows Part 1 does not stand on its own, but it isn't supposed to. And I personally do not believe they made it into two parts for money, only because it would have been a difficult task to make this all one movie. After all, it would be over four hours long.


Steve Kloves' screenplay is his finest work in the series yet. The script is perfect, and as always, the character development is incredible. Most of the film is spent working so hard in the relationships between Harry, Ron and Hermione, making this the most emotionally satisfying of the movies. Though it is certainly a film only for people who love the series, if some of the films don't please you but you overall like the series, you most likely will not enjoy this. Yates and Kloves are clearly only focusing on the die hard fans, and that shows in Deathly Hallows Part 1.


The performances were excellent as they have been in the past few films. Daniel Radcliffe seems like a veteran actor now, and I honestly have nothing to criticize. Rupert Grint and Emma Watson were both fantastic, even though I read there were a few problems concerning the cast, and that maybe Watson was not supposed to return for this film. But, everything works out well in the end I suppose. Helen Bonham Carter is as good as she always is, I cannot say, however, that I find her character very scary. Ralph Fiennes is improving in his role as Voldemort, and he may be pushing an Oscar nomination coming this next film.


Overall, Deathly Hallows Part 1 is the perfect set up for end of the most successful film series in history. It leaves you desperately hanging off of a cliff, and that is why it works so well. We immediately want to see the next film, to know how this remarkable series is going to finally end.

Rating: 9/10