Review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) by Kevin O — 26 May 2013

David Yates finally gets it right.

Maybe he needed the extra time to incorporate more of the story.Maybe he needed to escape the formulaic storytelling and repetetive scenery that have caused the past few films to suffer. Maybe he lucked out and got the three main actors to all hit their stride at the same time. Whatever it was, those elements all play a part in making this easily the best Potter film since "P.O.A." and quite possibly the best overall.

Key scenes are not tossed aside, the scenery is fantastic and they take full advantage of not being confined to Hogwarts (you dont see it at all). The 3 young stars finally all carry their weight against some of the top of the line supporting cast. This movie is very dark as it should have been and it works. Even the "badguys" appear to be scared shitless about what the future holds under Voldemort.

The familiar elements are there. The action. The humor. However they use the extra time they are given to really delve into the drama aspects. There are long stretches where there is no action at all and all the scenes are dialogue driven without the film missing a beat.

Most have probably read the book but I wont post spoilers anyway. If Part II is as good as this, this could finally be the movie(s) that elevants the film portion of the franchise to the elite status that the books have become.