Review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) by Connie L — 19 Dec 2012

Every complaint raised against this movie is exactly why I loved it and consider it the high for the series. The three leads are absolutely fantastic, but especially Emma Watson who gives her best performance for the series yet.

This is a dark and emotional movie that follows the book very well and sets up the finale nicely, even if it ends in a cliffhanger for those who haven't read the books (low percentage of audience at this point, in my opinion).

Everyone said there was too much build up and not enough pay off, but the pay off is Part 2 and sometimes the journey is just as good or better than the end. I thought the pacing was fantastic in this one and much better than the job David Yates did on the previous film.

He switches the tones and atmosphere better here than he has in any of the others. I looked forward to these final two forever after reading the books, and Yates and his crew have done them more than justice.

The change in scenery and style after six books is a bit jarring at first, but this is a gritty and compelling story and has the emotional pull that some of the earlier installments did not have. We all knew going into this film that they would end on a cliffhanger, and yet some still complained.

I've never understood this and don't agree with it. For my money, this is the best installment of the series. It breaks the mold and established Harry Potter as one of the fantasy greats.