For those like me who have followed Ms. Rowling's tale of young Harry James Potter from young scrawny unsure little boy to the final book where he is a young man while not fully sure of himself he is sure of his task in life. The books have brought us all into a rich world of magic, muggles, and that which resides between the cracks. I have always loved how should would explain away how a world of such power and majesty has been able to hide in plain sight, especially in a place as self contained as Great Britain you would think that a school of magic people would trip over that every other day. And yet she brought such rich visuals, amazing expanse and intimate detail to this magical world, which is probably why I was so mad at so many of the movies.
Lucky I had not been doing this blog nor these reviews as long as the Harry Potter series of movies had been out. Because movies 4 & 5 would have gotten hammered. I did not like how it seemed that the directors were taking short cuts with the story just to fit it into an artificial time frame of how long people who had sat down and read the books all the way through and had been such obvious fans that they already knew the fan base to which they could expect to sell tickets and yet would not sit down to watch a long movie about characters for which they felt so deeply.
I would like to say that the Deathly Hallows does not make this mistake. Maybe it was because hey this is the last movie and we won't be able to feed off this money train much longer, maybe it's because of the travesties that have been released earlier in the last two years which basically were lampooned for ruining well known characters with HACK directing. But they decided for the deathly hallows to make a two part movie, and part one was MAGNIFIQUE.
Now yes they did add and take away some parts(as the whole Bill and Fluer meeting was ignored in the half blood prince as well as the fight that ended up with Bill being scratched by Fenrir Greyback the werewolf who had also gotten Lupin) to try and catch up to all of the story lines that were shredded in the past because "it didn't fit directorial vision". But I like the way they did it, for the most part it is true enough to the book that I could follow mentally where something fell in the book, and what they added in didn't cause a hiccup to a story that was already well paced. Kreacher, Dobby, and Griphook all make their triumphant(okay maybe not triumphant for griphook as this is just part 1.) returns and you start to see how a newbie to the wizarding world sees things. Harry not growing up solely amongst wizards does not understand how "magical creatures and non human magical folk" should be viewed because it is all new to him and thus to him all to be respected. While they didn't show Mad Eye dieing (they just described it in the book) they gave it the correct weight, like the man who had sank thousands of dark wizards, whom most would have probably considered the best fighter amongst them was gone.
As this was the movie audiences first introduction to Mundungus Fletcher I would like to say I love the casting job. He may not have been as thin as described in the books but he definitely portrayed that shady, keep an eye on your wand and wallet look that had been described since The order of the Phoenix. I also like how they portrayed the frenetic and harried way that Ron, Harry and Hermione had to fight now that the wizarding world was once again in the throws of Voldemort's terror. Like most people even the best of wizards shy in the face of what is thought to be ultimate evil. So the fact that people kind of stood to the side and no one got in the way now that the natural order seemed to be twisted around. I loved the scene with Dolores Umbridge, maybe you aren't supposed to take revenge but that "stupefy" was well earned.
I also like the kind of "Nightmare before Christmas" way they told the tale of the Deathly Hallows, the three brothers who had made the deal with death. Now being that I read the book I already know the FULL tale of the deathly hallows, as well as whom each item belonged too and the irony of when Harry puts the three parts together. The foreshadowing is great though, An unbeatable wand, A rock that can bring back the dead, and A cloak that can even hide from Death itself. I also like that they preserved the entire meaning of that moment in the story showing exactly what Voldemort's ways would lead people to do, even people who were admirers of Harry Potter and who STAUNCHLY supported him even in his darkest days.
I mean honestly while a lot of the previous movies threw in all of the explosions and the bangs they kind of forgot the STORY, yes you can nicely visualize what it is Ms. Rowling's wrote and have a nice CGI budget but if your translation of the story sucks, so does the movie. Unless in your translation of the movie that which you add better enhances said story(say like Percy Jackson the Lightning thief where Percy's final blow was dealt with a trident made from water he called to his hand instead of his pen sword. That I liked) or else is an understandable we can't do this but we will allude to it as best we can. As a friend reminded me not everyone enjoyed the books so yes in the movie you kind of have to pick what you are going to force people to wrap their minds around. I mean come on I know it's "magic" but how is a house just going to appear out of nowhere? How is somebody going to be standing right there INCHES from your face and yet not see you just because you cast a spell(and of course it shows that while outstandingly prepared even Hermione Granger doesn't think of EVERYTHING). Being the last it was also the heaviest of all the Harry Potter books, yes there has been loss before AND there has been great pain, but in this book Harry Potter is fully broken down and shown just how important it is he know his responsibility as the Hero and not just the accolades and the acknowledgments. In the first half of the book HP7 fully broke Harry down, for a time harry was starting to become overly confident and outrageously upbeat for what was to be his final battle with Voldemort, the first one with no Dumbledore at his back to give him a steadying hand.
I love how they treated the necklace that we discover had been in their possession all along, that was pretty much exactly how it was in the book and I appreciate that they didn't touch it at all. The Nagini fight was better than I had imagined it when I read the book so that was a definite bonus. I loved this movie I actually hated Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at the theater there were so many things that they just pissed on for no other reason then "well I'm the director and this is how I see it". The fact that this director stuck so closely to a story that didn't need his help was wonderful.
Go see it I mean my wife was mad that it was a part one and not the full story but even she liked it. And when it is sci-fi/mystical usually she is only there because I want to go with my Grown behind not because she wants to see it this was the second time she went to a sci fi movie of her own wanting.
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