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

Film: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

Director: David Yates

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson

The final book in JK Rowling's classic Harry Potter series has now reached cinemas (well, it did a few weeks ago when I went to see it) and I have to admit, it was very, very good. The powers that be at Warner Bros decided to split the final book into two parts for the film adaptation, and it was a good decision, as director David Yates appears intent on including every minute detail from the monstrous book into his film.

Now I have long been a fan of the Potter books, and I've always felt that the films have never done the books justice. That is usually the case when films are created from literature, but there is no finer example than the Harry Potter series. The original film (Philosopher's Stone) was great as it captured the magic of Hogwarts pretty well, and despite the actors being extremely young, I thought they did a good job. I was young at the time too, which probably helped. However, it's been downhill ever since. Chamber of Secrets was awful, but then again that is arguably the weakest book in the series. Prisoner of Azkaban was nothing special, which was a shame as the book was brilliant. I think the movies reached their lowest point with Mike Newell's butchering of Goblet of Fire. What was once my favourite book of the series was ruined by Newell's terrible excuse for a Harry Potter film - it was just wrong in all aspects. It wasn't until David Yates was brought on board that the films began to regain that sense of Potter-ness that had been missing since Philosopher's Stone. Order of the Phoenix was good, especially the battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort towards the end of the film. Unfortunately Half Blood Prince felt a bit flat to me, but it was still a good effort, and a decent film.

But Yates has really resurrected the series with the Deathly Hallows, by far the best film of the series so far. Something as successful and large as Harry Potter can easily be gotten wrong, as the previous films have demonstrated but that is not the case with the Deathly Hallows. For the first time it actually felt like the stars of the show can act, with Radcliffe and Watson enjoying their finest performances on screen to date. Rupert Grint has been the one constant of quality in the previous films, and again he contributes in this film; he IS Ron Weasley, and he captures the character perfectly. I think the biggest reason I've been so against the Harry Potter films in the past can be traced down to one individual: Daniel Radcliffe. I have never been a fan of Mr Radcliffe, as he has never captured the character of Harry in my opinion. To be fair, I expect this is not solely his fault, as the past directors must take some of the blame. I've always felt that Harry has been portrayed as a weaker boy/man in the films than he is in the books, and Radcliffe's wooden portrayal of Harry hasn't helped. However I have to give credit where it is due and I feel that Daniel Radcliffe was rather good indeed in the Deathly Hallows. Hopefully he can keep this up in Part 2, and redeem himself some more.

Overall, the Deathly Hallows was much better than I expected. The book is my favourite in the series and it looks like the films are going to do it justice. Part 1 was an entertaining experience throughout, and goes down as one of my best films of the year. Bring on Part 2 next year!

A More Enjoyable Reality Rating: 8/10

Thanks for reading.