So I had wanted to see this ever since seeing the awe-inspiring trailer many months ago, even though I wasn’t really a Harry Potter fan in the past. I should note that I have not read any of the books, however in preparation for this movie, I did watch the 6 previous films to get caught up. Well, I could write a whole review detailing the numerous records it holds and where it stands on the charts, but I don’t want to bore those few readers of mine more than the review itself will do. So just some basics: This movie broke its own franchise opening record and is the highest grossing opening HP movie of the series with $125 million for this past weekend. It now stands as the second biggest November opener, 6th biggest opener of all time, and 3rd biggest midnight opener of all time. So yeah, it did pretty well. I went into this movie with very high expectations from what I’d been hearing.
This movie is part 1 of the adaptation from the last Harry Potter book, and is number 7 in the series. The movie follows the three lead characters, Harry, Ron, and Hermoine, as they leave Hogwarts and are now embarking on their quest to find the remaining Horcruxes in order to defeat the evil Lord Voldemort, as he has now basically resumed power over all of the wizardly governing bodies.
Now, I really have no clue how accurate this movie is to the book or not. Basically, I got to view this film as a movie, instead of an adaptation, with no idea what was going to happen next. The plot had a nice arch and a great finishing point. It felt like a complete movie yet at the same time a part of a larger plot. So the segment this movie covers, felt complete – yet of course leaving you wanting more but still satisfied. It wasn’t a glorified exposition as I was afraid would be the case since there is a Part 2 to follow. There was more time spent on the three leads and their relationship with each other, which is a welcomed difference from the past 6 movies. The plot was not terribly confusing and did a great job of summing up the necessary information without being overtly redundant for those who have viewed the past films. I really enjoyed the humorous moments in the movie as well, and especially the Polyjuice Potion bits. There is a scene which I had already heard words floating around such as, ‘inappropriate’ and ‘unnecessary’ etc. This movie is rated PG-13 and revolves around death and murder, so I don’t think that ‘images of sensuality’ are that far off. This was something a lot different that the romantic subtleties found in the other movies. I believe that this franchise grew up with it’s audience. Was the nakedness necessary? Probably not. They could have easily have been clothed or wrapped in sheets or something of that nature. It’s a little hard to shock me however. On the whole, the plot was more grown up than the rest and much different from the structure of the last movies with a game/main objective to overcome. There are these different things they are searching for in this movie, however it feels more like a journey to the ultimate battle.
Well I enjoyed this cinematography the most out of all the movies. I’m aware that this is most likely resultant of the blue filter employed here as its probably one of my favorite effects. The camera work was smooth and the graphics were really perfectly done. As I’ve mentioned before, the ‘sensuatlity’ scene was riding a thin line, however that was obviously a script decision. The graphic of the two characters was quite pretty and pulled off the intended effect. There was a scene which I wasn’t pleased with how it was presented in the movie; the beach scene with Dobby the elf. It was off pace with the rest of the movie and a lot of time was spent in this scene. It was the only scene without the blue filter and was abundant with warm colors and a different tone than the rest of the movie. The acting and dialogue was fine in this scene, I just thought it was way off pace with the rest of the movie and looked out of place to me. Other than that aspect, this was definitely the most beautiful of the rest of the movies.
I felt like this was the first movie where the director really let the three leads act. Especially in the first few movies, they were just physical representations of their characters and the action and direction didn’t allow them to become their characters. I’ll come out and say that Emma Watson’s performance outshined her two companions. She was genuine and it was a really nice performance to watch. She did an especially great job in the torture scene and when Ron returns. It was interesting that the ‘mudblood’ cut wasn’t originally in the script and something Helena Bonham Carter and Emma Watson worked out. That’s not to say the boys weren’t good. Rupert Grint especially came out of his shell for this movie and was actually emotional, instead of the comic relief. Daniel Radcliffe also was able to break free and show some emotion, and his part was pretty difficult considering the opening Polyjuic Potion scene. I’ve felt that in the last couple of movies, the romantic connections felt very forced in the movies – and it still does unfortunately in my opinion. Harry’s connection feels completely unnatural. The Ronmoine doesn’t feel as artificial, but you can really only see it from Emma Watson’s performance, it’s definitely one-sided there. I’m not sure how important these romances are in the books, but they came off as very unnatural in the movies, in my opinion. Helena Bonham Carter was one of my favorite actors in the movie. She gets completely into character and really shines in the scenes she was in.
So, wow. Being such a high grossing movie, it warranted a long review right? Overall, I really enjoyed this film. I was expecting something just sensational because of the hype and I wasn’t that disappointed. I could see this movie again. It had a great (almost)constant beautiful tone and was an exciting story leading up to what should be a fantastic series end. There are a few things that I may have changed myself, but everything else was done so nicely, that it doesn’t really matter. I may have even now jumped onto the nerd wagon and am contemplating reading the books. So this review comes from a non-HP lover/nerd and I still thought it was a great movie. It wasn’t childish and was unique when compared to the other films. “These are dark times, there is no denying.” – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.
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