Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010) review

(8/10)

This first addition to the Harry Potter conclusion is a very deep character study with impressive direction and brilliant performances by the leads. However, the film picks up a little slower than the rest in certain parts.

PLOT:Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) are not returning to Hogwarts this year with intent on finding the remaining Horcruxes, or parts of Voldemort's soul stored in an item, and destroying them. However, finding these objects aren't easy, especially when they possess life-changing dark power. Also, Hermione notices a strange symbol in every place they end up that might be connected to finding the Horcruxes and the mysterious Deathly Hallows. It's a great plot executed excellently.



ACTING:The performances in this film are brilliant, especially by the main three. Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson really outshine their classic roles of Harry, Ron, and Hermione with more emotional character interaction than ever before. We see some of the true personalities of the characters flow more outward in this film. The other performances in this film were just as brilliant as well. The other shining performances that really kept me entertained and complimented the film well were Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix, Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort, Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley, Alan Rickman as Snape, Rhys Ifans as Xenophilius Lovegood, Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew, Brendan Gleeson as Mad-Eye Moody, and Toby Jones as Dobby. All performances were good as usual, but these were my favorites of this film aside from the main three.

SCORE:The score in this film was very intense and beautiful composed by the great Alexandre Desplat. I believe every theme is loads darker and more beautiful in this one. Desplat has great skill in this film.

EFFECTS:The effects in this one weren't as broad as the others have been, but they were still pretty cool. I enjoyed the snakes, wand battles, and Disapparations. The wand battles were really great I'd say.



OTHER CONTENT:This film was under the fine direction of David Yates and seems even more finely-tuned than its predecessor by Yates. This film, in reality, is a slow-boiling character study of the main three with a added mystery of the Horcruxes and Deathly Hallows. The chemistry of the characters in this one is really well shared and emotional altogether. However, I believe this one is a bit slower in the middle than its predecessors have been. The middle consists more of character study and mystery than of action or eventful twists. It almost seems like a shock when the end comes with so much eventful action. The slow parts aren't unecessary, but they're not to overlap the action. Overall however, this film is pretty great and a good prelude to the final chapter of the Harry Potter films.

OVERALL,a great Harry Potter film with an excellent plot, brilliant performances, beautiful score by Desplat, cool effects, fine direction, and an intriguing character study, but this film doesn't pick up as fast as its predecessors have and it seems a bit too reliant on its next part.