Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010)

*minor spoilers*

Unlike the previous movies, Book 7 gets the two-movie treatment. Studio said that one movie is not enough to put in all the important details; I say that it is one last-ditch attempt to squeeze additional money from Potterphiles, since merchandising can only get you so far.

Heck, even Twilight is doing it.

Despite having to fork out 20 bucks for ONE book-to-movie adaptation, and yesidonthavetospendmoneyonthemcapitalistpigsbutthelastonewillgooutwithabangsoshutup, my main complaint for the previous Potter movies is that a running time of two-plus hours per film isn't long enough to capture the essence of the books, giving us rushed messes like Prisoner of Azkaban, which by the way, had the potential to be totally epic and awesome on account of all the bombshells dropped, but instead, events that were to happen in real-time, happened via dialogue.

[End of super-long sentence. Plus, not enough Crookshanks.]


So, the two-movie treatment: good or bad? On one hand, we have to pay extra to see the entire story; on the other, not having to pay extra leads to extreme pissed-offness after watching said movie.

If Part 1 is any indication... 'good'.

Damn.

Part 1 presumes that you've reread Book 7 recently, and jumps straight into the storyline. Gone are brief updates and reminders of what occurred in previous films; no more saying, "Memory charm," before the first instance of obliviate-ing a person in the movie. The movie doesn't even bother to introduce the characters (except Bill Weasley and Xenophilius Lovegood), so I had to do a lot of Wiki-ing after the film to see which Death Eaterscharacters got screentime as it's been a while since I read Book 7.

[Particularly the rather good-looking one in the band of Snatchers that took the trio towards the end of the film.]

As per usual, there were minor deviations from the book. Dobby's death was a bit drawn-out (probably for emotional impact), but for the length of his death-speech, the kids could've gotten a potion or fashioned a spell to prevent him from dying long enough to get help. I was particularly looking forward seeing Wormtail reach his appointed end, but not in this flick, unfortunately. Think they may be saving it for Part 2.

One addition I laud is the scene where we see Hermione wipes her parents' memories as well as every trace of herself in their lives (in the book, we find out via dialogue). The scene really adds to the gravity of the entirely-dire situation, and also, made me tear up within the first 10 minutes of the movie.

I won't even bother to talk about the CG, since it's top-notch, as expected.

As Part 1 was quite faithful to the book, it's not as fast-paced and harried as the earlier movies, but for non-Potter readers, be prepared for instances where they talk and argue and do not do much at all. Patience will be rewarded during action sequences, for they are awesome as always (the Ministry of Magic scenes are best).

And for viewers in general, please brace yourself for the dancing scene that lasts for like, five minutes. It was not in the book, and it is absolutely pointless.