Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 1.

Watched this for the second time, first time was in theaters, and seeing as how I enjoyed writing my Thor review I figure this is as good a film as any to try my hand at next.

Films based on books are always an interesting case, it’s a chance to try and bring fiction to life. This brings with it countless issues and problems, from choosing what parts of the book to use, to dealing with trying to portray all the complex ideas present in fiction. Disregarding the cries of fanboys Harry Potter seems to deal with most of these issues, book to film issues not necessarily the films themselves, better than most others such as LOTR.

This is by no means saying the movie is perfect, far from it. There are important parts of the books which are left out, but in the context of the movies it turns out okay with there being good continuity and storytelling. Maybe not the best novels turned movies, but it can always be worse.

As for Deathly Hallows in particular, it seems to be middle of the road, not the best in the series and not the worst. There are good parts, but unfortunately on of the major parts of the movie is less than stellar and really does bring it down. The 3 main characters are well played and the actors, having played them for years, seem to have a good hold on them and their motivation.

However for whatever reason the section of the film where the 3 of them(Harry, Ron and Hermione) are by themselves searching for the Horcruxes they seem to lose it. Even taking into account the cursed locket which is affecting them they seem overly childish and forced. But they are fine when they are with others, and it’s not enough to ruin the whole movie. The supporting cast all handles their job well, and there aren’t really any exceedingly poor jobs.

The effects, as in all the series, are well done and aren’t over the top as in some movies with magic. Though at some points Voldemorts snake seem a little unreal. As with the book, the film is significantly darker than the others, and it’s pulled off well. There is nothing to complain about with the filming itself, and it works well to portray the gloom and despair.

The music is well done with Desplat greatly adding to the atmosphere. He seems to be an improvement over the previous few films and even over Williams’ composition in the first 3. Williams music clearly influences some of the pieces, which makes sense and is a nice touch to help continuity. It’s hard to fault the LSOs playing, and their performance is about as good as it could be.

Overall a fairly decent movie, only riddled by some writing/acting inconsistency and the problems that plague any book made film.

~ by Chris Stevens on May 8, 2011.