Ed's Review Dot Com

Heyday Films, Warner Bros. Pictures

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Bill Nighy, Richard Griffiths, Harry Melling, Julie Walters, Bonnie Right, Ian Kelly, Michelle Fairley, Fiona Shaw, Alan Rickman, Ralph Finnes, Helena Bonham Carter

The latest (and 2nd to last) of the Harry Potter films, this is Part 1 of the last book.  This is certainly the darkest of the Potter books, and probably the scariest of the movies for the younger kids.  Valdemort is in control now and has spies everywhere.  He’s overthrown the Ministry of Magic, and has learned that Harry Potter is being moved by his friends to a safe place.  They must find him before he gets there.  In the beginning we get to see the Dursley’s now leaving their home as it’s not safe anymore, and Harry visiting his old space under the stairs where he used to sleep.  Then his friends arrive, and everybody uses their magic to disguise themselves and get Harry to the safe place.  But he’s betrayed and many of his friends are attacked and it is too much for Harry.  He must set out to find the Horcruxes, special objects that contain special powers and must be destroyed.  The spend most of the film zapping from place to place from Hermione’s memory as a child, and hiding out from the soul eaters while trying to find the most powerful of the horcruxes.  In the end, Voldemort makes a chilling discovery and doom and gloom appear to be in order for the second half of the film.

This is, as I said, a dark and scary film.  It’s very well done, as is all the Potter films, and the imagery of the world Rawlins has created is stunning.  One of the nicest things is to see how the kids have grown.  Since we’ve been watching these kids grow up in this series, it’s nice to see how well they’ve turned out.  Harry’s a quite charming man, and Hermione has grown into a beautiful lady.  Ron on the other hand, is still the boyish imp he always was, as he go after Hermione’s heart, but doesn’t quite know what to do with it if he gets it.

There is a lot of hopelessness in the film, but we know it HAS to turn out well in the end if we just hang in there.  Even though it’s only half of the last book, it’s still a long film, and you just get really into it when the credits roll.  The audience groans and complains, but we’re going to have to wait for the ending.  It’s stunning visually and the tension mounts from the opening credits to the big final moment.  You can never relax, and it’s good to see old House Elf Dobby who arrives just in time to help Harry once again.  It’s exciting, and if you’re following the stories of all the other films, you’ve already seen this.  If you haven’t, well I’m sure you can enjoy the action and adventure of the movie, but it’s probably not the best way to appreciate the story by starting at the end.   But saddest of all, we have to wait for next year to end the story when Part 2 is finally released!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog