Thursday, November 18, 2010

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Last night I went to see the first part of the final Harry Potter movie, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; Part 1'. I will keep this relatively short as I do not want to run the risk of spoilers for anyone who (in the off chance) has not read the books.

I have been looking forward to this movie for quite awhile. Like many I have read the book series upon each release through out my teen years, in fact the Harry Potter books are some of the last true books I have read of late. Likewise when the films came out I followed them, each upon release.
They have had their good and bad moments, one point that always sticks out to me is the terrible piece of cinema that was the opening scenes of 'The Prisoner of Azkaban'. One thing that each film has gotten right so far was the increasing maturity of the books as the series went on. This thought worried me as TDH came closer to release because I know just how much further the book took that path. To not ruin the books the film would almost have to be not suitable for the children that love them so much.

My worries were unfounded.

This penultimate film barely holds back at all, without any spoilers there is one scene in particular where Harry, Ron and Hermione are in a lift and through the grate mesh door a hallway of Dementors reach for the Heros. The Birds Eye View from the roof shows two dozen shadowy skeletal hands clawing at them in a manner that you could swore was from a zombie flick if not for the distinct lack of rotting flesh.
Heck the movie even get almost a little R18, Adults only at one point.
Obviously the film does not carry a serious rating so every precaution has been taken to not go further than they can but they do a solid job of riding the line at points.

Sitting at 140 odd minutes its not a short film and while it cuts a few scenes short the running time nicely covers the majority of more than half the book. Assuming a similar run time this gives the second and final part ample time to fully delve into the darkness that lies ahead.

If you are a fan of the series in anyway then I recommend you go and see this movie, you will not be disappointed. My only major problem with it is that I now have to wait another 6 months to see the final part and that says a lot.

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