So unless you've been hiding under a rock or been severely cracked out for the last decade, you're aware that the Harry Potter franchise has reached it's culminating film adaptation. And as per tradition, I braved the crowds and long line ups (surprisingly short considering it was the first part of the last HP movie EVER) to catch the first viewing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 at 12:02 in the am. Now as a devout Harry Potter fan (I used to write HP fanfiction) I can say that I haven't been terribly impressed by the movies as a whole. While I understand that the films have to be adapted to fit the silver screen, I feel as though the previous movies have cut several crucial elements that were present in the books, as well as changing some things outright. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the films, I just don't think they stood up to their original source material. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is the first Harry Potter film that did justice to its book counter-part.
If you've read the book (and in my opinion, you shouldn't even be THINKING of going to see these movies without having read the books) than you're familiar with the plot, and you can skip ahead a few lines. For those of you who have not read the books (shame on you), here's a brief recounting of the plot.
After the death of Albus Dumbledore (played by Michael Gambon), Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and his best friends Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) set out to destroy the remaining Horcruxes which hold fragments of Lord Voldemort's (Ralph Fiennes) soul.
Right from the get go, this movie is intense, starting with a very emotional scene that is only talked about in the book: Hermione obliviating (memory wiping to you non Pottheads) her parents. This scene was a change from the book that I actually heartily approved of. As the books are from Harry's point of view, we rarely get an insight to what is happening to any of the characters, unless it is mentioned through dialogue. Here, we're able to fully comprehend exactly how much it's costing not just Harry, but Hermione and Ron as well, to complete the task that Dumbledore left them.
The movie moves forth at a blistering pace with all sorts of edge-of-your-seat tension, mixed with expertly timed comedic relief. Radcliffe and Grint have been at this for so long that their banter has been honed into a finely tuned weapon and Watson handles much of the heavy lifting with ease, being the second most prominent character in this film. The scope of the entire film, plus the fact that much of it takes place outside the walls of Hogwarts, really gave the trio a chance to show their acting chops, and they did so admirably.
Quite honestly, there's nothing much to say about this film except go see it. Besides being the motion picture event of a lifetime it is, very simply, a good movie. If anyone plans to go see it anytime soon, let me know because it is definitely a multi-viewer.
Long live J.K. Rowling.
Surely HP7.1 is a good movie. I watched it at midnight as well. Some added stuffs on Hermione shows a very disdain angle of this Muggle-born witch, and how the magical society discriminate someone like her, which such discrimination happens almost everywhere. I also like the dancing scene between her and Harry in the second act (during Ron's disappearance--does J.K. seriously consider add this scene "back" to her book?) and when Ron finally re-appears and tell both of them how he come back. It's so human, so touching ...
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