Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

The world of magic has entered truly the darkest times, but despite what random critical outbursts might suggest, it has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the film adaptation. Yates and Kloves had a challenging task of transforming the "slower and more talkative" part of the Relics into a separate explosive blockbuster. The director stood out with incredible bravura, and whether the Trio is leaving home, the Tale of the Three Brothers is being told, or the horcrux is being destroyed, the magical atmosphere literally shines from the screen. However, Kloves' screenplay occasionally takes shortcuts, and if I didn't have the source material loaded backwards and forwards, I would be quite lost. But even though Bill and Fleur become members of the Order from minute to minute, when they were omitted in the Prince, and Minister Scrimgeour steps onto the scene only to quickly descend from it, the criticisms are hard to find in the consequences. The overall impression for me screams that from four hundred pages full of expectations of great things and the fulfillment of smaller ongoing goals, an epic fantasy full of intoxicating moments and such sincere private drama has been created that it takes one's breath away. The Phoenix and the Prince have gained a successful companion, and if David Yates was the king after the previous installment, he has slowly run out of room to climb. (27/11/2010)

The seventh book is unnecessarily, although readably, drawn-out in the first half; and the second half has a fateful finale as we like them best. It’s movie adaptation has only got half way so far (somewhere around page four hundred of about six hundred), but it’s already better than the book at least in that Yates succeeded in approaching it in a way that doesn’t come across like unnecessarily watered down porridge. And if so, certainly less than the book is. Thanks to the convincing (!) emotions, the finally acting well central trio, the great atmosphere and Desplat, it works wonderfully. It’s true that there are a few scenes that stand out in quality above the others, but even so, the movie works primarily and mainly as a whole. But still, it is evident that where the creators dared to let their fantasy loose and not to stick word for word to the book, the movie is clearly at its best. Now all I can wish for is for Yates to manage to deal with the special effects-full, epic second part, while not forgetting those emotions and characters. If he manages that, we’ll have something to look forward to. But if he doesn’t, we will really have something to “look forward to". (18/11/2010)

Now I’ve reached the age where I have read all of the Potter books, but it’s so long ago now, that I can’t remember anything more than the main plot and how they ended. Yates understands (but the studio doesn’t yet) that most of the fans have aged considerably (personally I first got to know Harry and his friends in the ninth grade and a whole lot of water has flown under the bridge since then) and, starting with part five, has begun slowly but surely to shift from slightly rugged fairytale into a dark fantasy which suits us, over-aged kids, better now. Part seven also has the advantage that it radically differs from its younger brothers in its most fundamental aspect. We are no longer shut in at Hogwarts, but we are beginning to move around, far and wide around the entire, well... British Isles. The visuals in the first half of Deathly Hollows are entrancing (the sea) and yes, I also mean the ingeniously handled insert about the three brothers. Desplat’s music is probably the best possible substitute for Williams’ awesome soundtracks. The cast give their very best performances (after all these years, they have their characters nailed) and because the story has been divided into two, they have a lot of room to strut their stuff. They are clearly saving Snape for the finale and Voldemort is at last truly demonic. It was interesting that although it was a little slow-moving, I wasn’t bored for a minute. In fact this made me want to see the last half and maybe read the books again. Sometime. So, our last meeting is in six month’s time, Mr. Potter. (28/11/2010)

I am not going to complain about this movie, but I have to point out that I am so exhausted from the whole series that I would gladly accept Voldemort's victory. I have previously mentioned that, from my point of view, the movie series should have had only four parts, as this fully demonstrates a lot of filler from the books. Additionally, since the producers decided to divide the last book into two movie parts for higher profits, this flaw is even more evident in this case. Logically, the film does not escalate as it should and thus lags from a dramatic perspective. On the other hand, it once again scores points with the big budget and the care of the film studio, so Harry Potter fans will not be disappointed. Overall impression: 50%. (06/04/2011)

I don't know if this is a fantasy tribute to Satantango, but the fact is that, if all the shots were thrown out where the characters were mindlessly stumbling or looking soulfully into nothingness, there would be about 30 minutes of film left and I would have a hard time defending its purpose. The entire Harry Potter series has since become an unbearably stretched and non-inventive spectacle on the silver screen, which includes purposeful piling of meaningless branches and the creation of soap opera odor. Yet even in terms of character rendering, it is poor and dead tired, without sparkle and anything that would keep a person’s attention who does not look at it as an overpriced illustration of a book. Utterly useless, boring, and I dare say even a stupid half-part. (10/07/2011)