In the Theatre with kevin Murphy - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - Warner Bros.

The boy who lived has returned for his greatest adventure of all time in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1. As a fan of the books I thought this film was good but as a critic I thought that this film was brilliant. J.K Rowlings final chapter of the worldwide phenomenon is brought to the big screen in two parts, right now is part one, you'll have to wait for the conclusion in July.

Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) has embarked on a quest with his best friends Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Wattson) to destroy the key to his archenemy Lord Voldemorts (Ralph Finnes) immortality; the hHorcruxs. Along their journey many lives are sacrificed to protect Harry and Harry's determination to avenge all the lives that were lost since the day he met Voldemort has reached breaking point. While traveling the trio discover the existence of three talismans known as the Deathly Hallows that could make or break the future of the wizarding world.

Of all the Harry Potter films, this both the most mature film and the most dark. It is also my favorite even though it is only half the of the final book. Unlike the previous six films this one does not have a primary setting or sense of place which wold be Hogwarts, Instead this film has the characters traveling from one place to another looking for something or someone. Because its not set in one place the audience has a chance to look outside of the safety of school and see how dangerous the wizarding world really is and why Hogwarts puts such emphasis on safety from external threats.
Because these kids arnt in school anymore it almost feels like a coming of age film mixed with adventure and fantasy. It implies how well these kids have learned in school and how effectively they use their skills in real world situations. In school we are always taught about the “real world” which is the place outside the safety of a school wall where things are more hard and brutal than how school softens it by given you a second chance but in the real world your lucky to get one and a half and the film portrays this belief extremely effectively.

The effects of Deathly Hallows part 1 are incredible and by the far the best out of all the films. Every effect in the movie is used the way the book wanted it to be used and it doesn't try to waste any of it on something that either doesn't play a part to the story and conflict of good vs evil or on something that that isn't relevant to the story. The best example would be Ron's moment of triumph when he confronts the power of one of the Horcruxs.

The acting for this one is the best out of all the films. When I compared the books to the films basically every character I saw in the books acted and sounded just the saw they should have been in the books. The best example from the first movie to now would be Alan Rickmans performance as Serverus Snape because he knows how to play the role the way J.K Rowling intended it to be done, this also applies to Robbie Coltranes performance as Rubeus Hagrid and Ralph Finnes as Lord Voldemort.

For this film specifically I found the best acting to come from the trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione. In 2001 the characters were brought to the big screen and as the films got darker and more mature they followed along at the same level, but by darker I mean they let more dark attributed confront them with less protection from the older characters. Their chemistry is also brilliant in the film because these three have worked together for so long they really did start out as kids and not as actors and because of this they have shaped their relationship in the finale instalment into a real friendship as apposed to a typical Hollywood drama. I think eight great films through the past decade is enough to prove how good it is.

Because this movie is so dark I am extremely glad the rights were given to Warner Bros, because of all the American film companies they are the ones that are the best at making dark and dramatic films together. I can tell how dark one of their movies is simply by looking at their opening logo on the movie and with the Harry potter films the look to them gets darker and more gothic like with Batman (1989) or Sherlock Holmes (2009). I can only imagine the horror if the rights were given to Disney.

The director of the film David Yates was by far my favorite director of the Harry Potter films because of his approach. Before working for Warner Bros he did TV drama's for the BBC and that type of experience, brought to the world of film can bring serious depth, drama and humor to a story. With the cast, story and effects already provided for him he has made the best use of all the resources for the harry Potter films. My only compliant about his approach is that he seems to focus a bit too much on the teenage relationships in the film and not enough on the actual story, taking up at least a quarter of it when it should only be a tenth. But the good news is he didn't waste any of the relationship scenes on something cheep and pathetic like Glee, Fame or High School Musical.

On a scale of 1 to 10, this film is a 9 ½ with only that small complaint about the directing approach. Since 2001 Harry Potter has proved not only to be acceptable by fans but by critics as well since the movies are very well done in many ways. Since this is the first half of the final film we expect much and most sequels cant do that because they get to commercial.But because the author of the books stays so committed to the movies (she was even a producer for this one) she keeps a iron fist on the quality of the film and because of this, Harry Potter and the Deathly hallows is a must see film.

My Rating: 3.5/4 Shamrocks