Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

The producers of the Harry Potter franchise must have faced an immense amount of pressure with the latest film. They couldn't just maintain the quality of the previous installments. They had to up the ante, they had to knock this finale out of the park. If they messed this movie up, then they would have practically wasted the last 10 years.

The jury is still out. Part 1 is the appetizer and I think all the meat is going to be in Part 2. That's not to say the movie is bad. Overall, it is pretty good. The story, first of all, is solid and different from the others. When the evil lord Voldemort (a defiantly creepy Ralph Fiennes) and his cronies take over the wizard government, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) go on the run. Fugitives, they desperately teleport from place to place, trying to stay one step ahead of the their pursuers and destroy the horcruxes - artifacts that contain the different pieces of Voldemort's soul. Along the way, they uncover the existence of the Deathly Hallows - the three most powerful items in the wizarding world. Can they find them before Voldemort does?

The biggest strength of Deathly Hallows could very well be the acting. The films have always been strong in the acting department, what with casts that included a who's who of amazing performers. I'm happy to report that our three leads - Radcliffe, Grint, and especially Watson now fit in very comfortably with their esteemed colleagues. They bring on the intensity with full force and are utterly believable in their dire situation. The movie also has some terrific set pieces, including a memorable infiltration into enemy headquarters, that is superb because it deftly balances true tension with some terrific humor, which isn't easy to do. It's one of the best sequences of the film.

But the movie has some issues. The pacing is probably the biggest problem. I think the filmmakers were so interested in Potter going fugitive, that they rushed through all the really important stuff leading up to it. Major characters are killed off screen or super quickly, major events like the fall of the government just kind of happen with a passing line of dialogue. They just blow through all this important material and then when the heroes become fugitives, the pace slows down. While I appreciated the slower pace here, and I really enjoyed this part of the movie, it does drag a bit in the middle. They should have trimmed some of it and added some necessary exposition in the beginning.

Still, overall this is a solid entry into the franchise and succeeds at its most important task: it sets all the pieces on the board in preparation for a huge final battle. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2 comes out next summer. The pressure's on. Don't mess this up, guys.

MVP: I need to give an honorable mention here. Minor spoilers here: Emma Watson wins in the acting department in a nicely balanced performance as Hermione Granger. A nice example of why she gets an honorable mention is her work in the movie's most emotional scene, way in the beginning, when she erases herself from her parent's memories to protect them from the coming horrors. It's a powerful moment and Watson gracefully balances the grief with the steely resolve that this is the right thing to do.

But the real MVP goes to Ben Hibon, the animation director of the coolest sequence of the film. When Hermione tells the story of the Deathly Hallows, the film cuts to a bizarrely animated and brilliantly haunting sequence that recounts the legendary tale of the three brothers who encounter Death. The animation is fantastic, and is easily the best thing about this movie. It was so different than anything else in the series so far, but yet so perfect at the same time. Awesome stuff.

BEST LINE: Mad-eye Moody: "Fair warning to you. It tastes like goblin piss." Fred Weasley: "Have lots of experience with that, do you, Mad Eye? ...uh, just trying to diffuse the tension..."

TRIVIA: When our heroes are in London, they pass by a poster for "Equus," the West End play that Daniel Radcliffe starred in.

OSCAR NOMINATIONS: Art Direction, Best Visual Effects