Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I

 The beginning of the End.

Dumbledore is dead and Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and his Death Eaters have taken over the Ministry of Magic. Voldemort's main concern is killing Harry Potter. (Daniel Radcliffe) Harry and his close friends, Ron, (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) skip their last year of school at Hogwarts and embark on a search to find Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes, which are objects that he has hidden bits of his soul in so he avoid death. They also learn about The Deathly Hallows, which include the Elder Wand, (the most powerful wand in the world) The Resurrection Stone (brings people back to life) and the Cloak of Invisibility (self-explanatory) and how important they become.

Being the Potter fanatic that I am, I have to say I am SO pleased with how Part I was handled. Deathly Hallows was by far the most detailed book and required the split given to the movies to include all that. I would've preferred a 5 hour flick with an intermission, but that's just me. The Cinematography in the film was lovely, even better than it was in The Half Blood Prince. (Which got an Oscar nom) We've watched our trio of characters grow up in front of our eyes, and we've watched them all grow into fine actors as well. Grint is still the strongest, with screenwriter Steve Kloves finally pulling his head out of his ass and giving Ron something more to do then look scared and provide comic relief. He really is the heart and soul of this group. Radcliffe provided a lot of depth with the complicated hero that is Harry Potter and even Emma Watson, who I have been quite critical of over the years showed some emotion. The film followed the book closely, to me the film felt fast paced compared to the book, but movie goers who have not read the book might feel that the pacing is quite slow. There were a few things added into the film that were not in the book. Hermione erasing her parent's memories of her proved to be a touching addition, but a scene of Harry and Hermione dancing together to ease the tension of Ron leaving felt silly and out of place.

The only part of the film that I actually thought didn't work was Ron's nightmares before he destroyed the locket, the CGI was cheesey and horribly done and it lacked Harry's emotional talk that he gives Ron afterwards. The ending felt incomplete, but I expected it to. I thought the point where they split the film really builds towards the epic finale. They ended on a sad note, one of the most emotional parts in the book and gets us ready for the nonstop action that's going to take place in Part II. Deathly Hallows is the best Potter film yet, and I can't wait to see the rest.

In fact, I want to go and see this again immediately.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: A

Memorable Quote: "Such a beautiful place, to be here with friends." - Dobby

Did it live up to my 10 Things I want from Deathly Hallows I did back in may? Let's see. (Pertaining to part I, of course)

1) Opening Sequence - YES! Hedwig's death was different in the film than it was in the book, but I thought the way they did it in the movie made it even more emotional. It was exactly how I pictured it in the book. It had action, light humor, and ultimately a sad ending.

2) Ron/Hermione - Yes, mostly. I loved the hints they gave at Ron and Hermione's relationship in the film. Kloves (I don't blame director David Yates, I blame the screenwriter) has always tried to hint at Harry and Hermione in my opinion, and while he still sort of does that here it's mostly focused on Ron and Hermione. I liked that, keep doing that, DON'T mess up their kiss in Part II.

3) There's no such thing as too much Alan Rickman - He was only in one scene in this film, his part is much bigger in Part II. But I appreciated his one scene, it really showed Snape's predicament, his emotions were very evident. I can't wait to see more.

4) There Will Be Blood - There was, hooray for PG-13 ratings!

5) Can 3D just f**k off, please? - YES!! It did, 3D would've added absolutely NOTHING to this movie. It's not an "in your face" flick. Let's just hope they leave 3D off of the finale.

6) The split - I thought it worked, I couldn't have thought of a better place. I suggested that the split happen when they are in the Lovegood house, yet it happened after they escaped Malfoy Manor. That worked better, I liked where they split it.

7) House Elves - Dobby and Kreacher were there, but this is more for Part II

8) The Half Blood Prince - I think the explanation will probably be in Part II. Watching Deathly Hallows really puts in perspective how bad they adapted HBP. Bill Weasley's injury and "splinching" were thoroughly explained in HBP, they were just sort of passed over in DH.

9) Tone Down Emma Watson - Done. I actually enjoyed her performance. Her eyebrows weren't going nuts and she's mastered more facial expressions than just "pissed." I approve.

10) Godric's Hallow - YES, just as creepy as I pictured it in the book. LOVED that sequence in the film.