By: Amelia Passer, 4 out of 5
It’s time to open at the close, part one of the last Harry Potter book, The Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling has finally come to theaters. Fans from all over the world stood in line for hours in the cold on November 19 (some dressed up as characters from the series) outside their local movie theaters to be the first to see what happens to the heroic boy who lived.
I, myself was a bit apprehensive. Being a die-hard fan of the books, I couldn’t help comparing the two. In past Harry Potter movies, I’ve always been slightly disappointed. It seems the movie would either leave something out for time’s sake, or change the plot line completely. So for this one, I tried to keep an open mind.
The Deathly Hallows, Part One was completely beyond my expectations was by far, like the book, my favorite of them all. Not once did I feel like the plot was at all rushed or crunched for time, and it was all under two and a half hours. The script was very well-written, including every possible detail from J.K. Rowling’s masterpiece.
The idea for the movie split came from The Goblet of Fire (the fourth movie) which was originally going to be split, but was declined.
Director David Yates thought it was the best idea for the final movie allowing the film to be more developed with the story. “After discussing it [the idea of splitting the films] with J.K. Rowling, we came to the conclusion that two parts were needed,” Yates said in a 2008 interview.
With each film, the acting of the young stars, Daniel Radcliff (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) have improved immensely. Of course, this is due to maturing and gaining of experience, but all the same, their improvements made the film far better.
Since the start of the first Harry Potter movie, it seems each film gets a bit darker or more mature. It’s as though as Harry Potter grows up, we grow up with him. This is definitely the scariest of the movies; I remember even jumping in my seat a few times and hiding behind my hands.
The movie starts where The Half Blood Prince left off, so I wouldn’t recommend watching it if I hadn’t seen the previous films. While fighting for the lives of the Wizarding World, the heroic trio must find all the “horcruxes” (pieces of Voldemort’s soul) and destroy them before it’s too late.
I was very impressed with the selected cliff hanger ending. The ending wasn’t so abrupt that I felt confused, yet it still made me want more. The plot was very well thought out, and I’m very glad the writers decided to break the last epic into two parts as opposed to crunching a 784 page book into a dreadful three hour movie, (which has happened in the last few films).
The movie kept me watching and on my toes throughout the entire film, even though I already knew what would happen because of the books. The film managed to incorporate all of the qualities needed for a box-office hit: funny, tear-jerking, action-filled, suspenseful, sweet. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Part One is definitely a must see for all “muggles.”
