Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (***½)
Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes,
Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Brendan
Gleeson, John Hurt, Rhys Ifans, Jason Isaacs, Bill Nighy
Seen: November 24th 2010
***½
Out of ****
The beginning of the end has never been presented so sumptuously.
Where it is actually supposed to be even more infuriating than movie #6, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, because of the place it inhabits in the
larger story, this movie delivers much more than any other Potter movie to
date. Yes, it is a setup for the final part of the saga to come in July of
2011, but still this one lays all the right pieces in place, and does a
massively impressive job at it. Harry Potter has never been so good looking and
well produced while at the same time telling such an engrossing story.
Dark Times reign, with the Death Eaters having taken over everything.
Voldemort (Fiennes) is furiously after Harry (Radcliffe), and with the holiday
season (not a very bright one) ending, Harry will have to be moved, an event
the Death Eaters are waiting for, to get rid of Harry Potter for good. The Order
of the Phoenix has an interesting tactic for Harry’s move from the Dursley’s
home to the Weasley’s, and the ensuing madness as the Death Eaters pounce is
something of epic proportions culminating in an initial showdown between Harry
and Voldemort that is sure to leave you amazed. When the seeming safety of the
Weasley residence is invaded by more Death Eaters during Bill and Fleur’s
wedding, Harry, Ron (Grint), and Hermione (Watson) disapparate to London, where
they are again attacked and they go on the run, never staying in the same place
for too long, using magic and cunning to try and stay one step ahead while
trying to find Voldemort’s horcruxes and any help in destroying them in any
shape or form.
A hunt after meaning of a certain symbol takes them to the home of
Xenophilius Lovegood (Ifans), where they “stumble” upon The Tale of the Three
Brothers, a story-within-the-story in the famous book, The Tales of Beedle the
Bard. This story explains the significance of the movie’s title, and is the
best part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. As the three are
attacked by Death Eaters yet again, they manage to escape only to be captured
and taken to the Malfoy mansion, where they encounter several different memorable
characters from previous movies in the series, and where things basically come
to an end, at least for this specific movie. Things are left on a cliff hanger
with things seemingly poised in favour not of our heroes, but of Voldemort, and
now we have to wait 8 long months (until July 2011) for the story’s completion,
and for one of the most momentous cinema events ever to thus be concluded.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is fantastic. The production
values are stupendous, every single actor in the movie becomes their character,
and devices used to advance the plot never seem contrived or forced in any way.
The animated sequence used to tell The Tale of the Three Brothers is arguably
the best animated short film I’ve ever seen, coming close only to other short
films by the same legendary animator, Ben Hibon. This is what Harry Potter was
always supposed to be, and I can only hope this series can end its ending like
this one started it.
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