Review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) by David M — 08 Sep 2013

First part of two films based on the final Harry Potter book, this movie is actually quite slow and feels longer than it's 2 1/2 hours running time (and probably could've been titled 'Harry Potter and friends go camping').

It also shows, very clearly, what I felt upon reading the book: that J. K. Rowling herself wasn't sure where the plot was going, and so (if I'm feeling charitable) 'borrowed' elements from several other well-known fantasy tales: for me, most noticeably, the Locket that Harry, Ron and Hermione share = the Ring of Power from the Lord of the Rings, and the mysterious appearance of Gryffindor's sword in a lake in the forest = Excalibur.

In short, I felt you probably could've got away with one, rather than two, films to end the series.