Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

Dragged myself along to see this today, after a week in which I haven't left the house due to a cough.

Really enjoyed it. For me, its the best of the Potter movies thus far. It actually manages to convey that sense of dread and foreboding that the wizard world should be feeling as Voldermort and his followers gather power. It was something which really started with the Half Blood Prince and the much more paired back approach that took to presenting Potter's world. This continues that but takes it several stages further, giving a real dark sense that its building toward the climax.

For a start, its all very nicely shot and directed to pull that together. There's actually some very nice imagery at work in the movies, not least in the Ministry of Magic where the propaganda machinery at work and the statues on display draw lots of comparisons with Nazi Germany and its pursuit of the Jews. There are a lot of small touches that just make the whole hang together much more effectively than the previous movies.

I think what also helps in this movie is the move away from Hogwarts. In the final book, Harry was stripped of the OTT sideshows and set pieces which were such a part of the previous books - and of course movies. No Quidditch games, no lessons or assemblies in the great hall, and no superfluous scenes of magic for the sake of it. That isn't to say the visual effects boys don't get work to do, and they do it well, but when they do you get a much better sense in this movie that its being done for a purpose of telling the story.

What also actually helps the movie, strangely enough, is the decision to split it. By taking that decision the studio have allowed the real essence of the final book to come out - that its actually about giving the main characters time to develop and grow. For them to show depth like they haven't been called on to do before, and for the three kids to essentially grow up. That's what you see in this movie, and all the three main actors are very good, as are the superb supporting cast.

Of course the split also presents a weakness in that this film can't bring any conclusions for the audience. But I never felt shortchanged by that fact as what you do get is so hugely enjoyable. In fact, the only real weakness in the movie is the one which has plagued them all - the fact that so many sub plots and characters have been cut or trimmed back in previous movies now leaving the filmmakers with having to have them appear or reappear with very little explanation. If you have read the books, you can of course place them. If you haven't, you may wonder who some of them are if you don't pick up the single line of dialogue that explains it.

But this is a minor issue, and doesn't take away from an excellent and very enjoyable movie. Roll on Summer 2011 and Part 2

4.5 stars for me.