Harry Potter e as Relíquias da Morte - Parte 1

Up until now, I was convinced that from the 4th book onwards, Harry Potter-books had become too complex to make into film: Goblet of Fire was a sore disappointment. Order of the Phoenix left many Potterheads wanting more, even if it wasn't a bad film per se (personally I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though I felt they left out too much). Half-blood Prince -while visually stunning- did not capture the brilliance of the book. With "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", I think the makers have finally succeeded in crafting a movie that was both fun to watch for casual viewers while also catering to the needs of the hard-core fans who know the books by heart. The decision to split the movie into two parts may be judged as a financial one by some, but I'm convinced it was the only possible way to make this work. The movie was cut off at the perfect time as well, having the viewers yearn for more without being too abrupt.

I don't want to give away anything, so I'll just say this: Hats of to you, David Yates. One can only hope the second installment will continue in the same vein...

In my mind, the Deathly Hallows Part 1 captured the feeling of exactly what the Harry Potter movies should have been all along: gritty, emotional, and cinematic. I haven't been a huge fan of any of the HP movies to date, but I was pleased with the Deathly Hallows because it took a big step up in maturity from the "children's fantasy" genre and focused on themes very central to the seventh book: hopelessness and desperation.

After the death of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore, the magical world falls into disarray as Voldemort gains power over the Ministry of Magic and hunts tirelessly after his mortal enemy and our continuing protagonist, Harry Potter. While keeping a low cover, Harry, Ron, and Hermoine decide to track down and destroy Voldemort's soul contained in hidden "horcruxes" but have difficulties deciding what to do and where to start.

The Deathly Hallows very successfully portrays the despair-filled journey of the wizarding trio. With dark undertones running through the cinematography, Part 1 of the Harry Potter finale is the film that deals more with the emotional stagnation of the characters and spends less time with action scenes and major plot points. Since Rowling's seventh book is separated into two movies, Part 1 boasts a much slower pace than earlier HP films and is not so focused on cramming as many subplots and side-stories from the book as possible into the movie's runtime, which tends to clutter up the storyline and make the whole thing feel rushed.

But where the slow pacing makes this film stand out in the series, it also may be its downfall. The Deathly Hallows continually feeds us a feeling of desolation as Harry, Ron and Hermoine fail to discover a way to destroy the horcruxes; they seem to be making no progress towards defeating the Dark Lord, but as an effect the movie seems to be making no progress towards an ending. Storyline lags intensely towards the middle of the film and is dragged out until the conclusion (which ends abruptly). You'll be left in your seats feeling like this is going nowhere- but that's the point: Harry, Ron, and Hermoine are getting nowhere. So I liked this movie because the pace was slow, but I also didn't like this movie because the pace was slow. See what I'm getting at? Aside from that, I can't complain much. Performances were fine, effects were impressive, and best of all, nothing dastardly was done to J.K. Rowling's story.

The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is a nice improvement and a fine addition to the Harry Potter series and should serve as a solid emotional base for Part 2 to take off with next year. If you've enjoyed the HP movies so far, this should be a satisfying experience at least. If not, let the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 redeem your faith in the series. 7/10

P.S. Keep on the lookout for the scene about the deathly hallows story. It has some of the most beautiful and artistic animation I have ever seen in a movie.

Entering the Empire, Leicester Square felt a bit like entering a Hogwarts "Chamber of Secrets" as we noticed from the display screen only showed details of films on screens 1, 2, 5 and 6 with no mention of the "special" pre-release showing of what was appearing on screen 4 - for film reviewers and those lucky enough to get a ticket – this was no place for ordinary "muggles" ...

Directed by David Yates - HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS - PART 1 is the seventh episode in the Harry Potter series and is part one of a two part final conclusion to the story.

The film starts with Rufus Scrimgeour (Bill Nighy) the new Director of the Ministry of Magic telling Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) the details of the lately deceased Albus Dumbledore's (Michael Gambon) last will and testament – along with a warning that due to the resurgence and return of the Dark Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and with Dumbledore no longer there to protect them – they are advised that Hogwart's is no longer a safe place for them ...

Previous events have determined that the soul of the Dark Lord has been split up and is contained within seven different horcrux objects – in a bid to attain immortality ... and, without finding and destroying all of these unknown objects the Dark Lord could never be defeated ...

With this in mind, Harry, Hermione and Ron (HH&R) decide to leave Hogwart's and their families behind by erasing their parent's memory of them … HH&R team up with the surviving members of the "Order of the Phoenix" to find these seven unknown horcrux objects and to construct battle plans against the ever growing power of Lord Voldermort's Dark Forces …

Harry and his friends are soon discovered and are attacked and only some of them manage to escape and regroup at the Weasley's secret hideout … where they count their losses

During a wedding held at the Weasley's they are attacked yet again by the Dark Forces and HH&R escape and find themselves alone again … HH&R are now left to their own devices to try and solve the riddles of the locations and form of the remaining outstanding horcrux objects … and how they may be able to destroy them … this also includes a hazardous break-in into the Ministry of Magic which is now controlled by the Dark Lord. In addition they also discover that the negative energy in carrying around one of the horcrux objects without being able to destroy it is affecting anyone who carries it turning them against the others in the group.

Meanwhile, with the Dark Lord's forces on the constant hunt for Harry Potter and friends, Voldermort himself wishes to track down the location of the three Deathly Hallows – whom he believes will make him invincible.

HH&R soon come into contact with Luna Lovegood's father Xenophilius who also lets slip the secret of the Deathly Hallows – and now they must also search for these to prevent Voldemort from getting them first. The race is on!

Special mention should be made for the performances of Brendon Gleeson as Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody and Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange – who both stole every scene that they were in … and the ever consistent Alan Rickman as Severus Snape.

There are many twists and turns and highs and lows throughout to keep everyone entertained through to the end …

I took my niece along to this showing for her birthday (she being a Harry Potter expert) and she quotes that "this is the best of the series of films so far, and is actually the first to better the associated book" … and this coming from such an ardent fan is high praise indeed … she (and I) were not disappointed and we are very much looking forwards to the final installment which is due out in 2011

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS - PART 1 is 146mins long, is a PG-13 certificate and will be on general release for muggles everywhere from Fri 19th November 2010

Ever since the release of the first Harry Potter movie in 2001, I've wondered how a TV miniseries of the books would have fared. The movies so far have had difficulties showing enough of the books' events within a reasonable time slot to keep the story flowing. They've all had to omit significant plot points, which has not only disappointed the more literal-minded fans but risked the integrity of the story. This was most painfully evident in the fifth movie, "Order of the Phoenix," which awkwardly attempted to fit the longest Potter book into just 2 hours and 15 minutes of film. The result was a movie that felt choppy and barely coherent, almost dreamlike. The two best films up to now--the third and the sixth--worked in part because they took the most risks, often departing substantially from the narrative of the books, to the consternation of many fans. I was not one of the fans complaining, because I figured that as long as it wasn't a miniseries, the best approach was to interpret the story rather than present the events exactly as they appeared in the books.

Dividing the seventh book into two movies has given a taste of what a miniseries might have been like. "Deathly Hallows: Part 1" is a more faithful adaptation than any of the previous films. This surprised me a little, because the portion of Book Seven it covers is actually longer than the entirety of some of the earlier books. (As I was rereading it a few months ago, I correctly guessed where they'd end Part 1--it's at an important turning point in the story that occurs close to the two-thirds mark.) Most of the film's sequences are exactly as I had envisioned them, and sometimes better than I had envisioned them. I especially liked its approach to the Riddle-Hermione scene, to the matter of protective enchantments around their camp (which is handled with a nice dose of spookiness), and to a spell that distorts a character's face. Apart from the oversimplification of a few plot details here and there, any flaws in the story come straight from the book. The two-and-half-hour movie drags at some points, but then so did the book, particularly in the forest scenes. The plot concerns Voldemort's takeover of the wizarding world and pursuit of Harry, who goes into hiding with Ron and Hermione but repeatedly endangers them and himself in his daunting efforts to find and destroy a set of objects that keep Voldemort immortal, aided only by a few enigmatic clues Dumbledore has left him.

It is not a very accessible film for non-fans. People who haven't read or seen any of the previous installments will probably be lost. It never once pauses to explain the Harry Potter universe or anything about the background to these tumultuous events, not even a prologue like the one that began the third of Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" films. The good news is that it doesn't condescend to the audience. The bad news is that if you don't know or can't remember things like what a horcrux is or what happens when you point a wand at someone and say "Obliviate," you might have trouble following the story.

As a fan, however, I loved it. It's just well-filmed, and I had notably fewer complaints about acting and special effects than I had for the previous movies. The CGI is relatively unobtrusive, and there aren't too many fake-looking moments. (The house-elves look especially good this time.) Ralph Fiennes finally appears to have settled into the role of Voldemort, after having delivered somewhat phoned-in performances previously. The kids, who get to dominate more scenes than in any of the other films, when their presence was counterbalanced by a plethora of seasoned British performers who are mostly absent here, have really grown into their roles. They were well-cast from the start and always had a certain raw talent, but early in the series they possessed some of the amateur qualities common to young actors. They have become increasingly proficient as the series has progressed (which I suspect was what the studio intended when it eschewed the tradition of casting older actors in child roles). Here they display the kind of camaraderie that can only be developed gradually, after having acted together in several films, and it makes the scenes that deal with their relationship feel natural and unforced.

I actually look forward to seeing the movie again at some point, just so I can sit back and take in more of the details. I think I didn't appreciate it enough the first time, distracted as I was by my knowledge of what happens in the book and the lack of any significant divergence in the film's depiction. There is not a lot in this film that will surprise fans; the enjoyment comes from seeing how vividly it is all brought to life.

The last book in the Harry Potter saga has been split into two parts. At first, maybe people would think it is to squeeze some more financial mileage out of the series. On the other hand, having watched this installment, there is simply too much complex storytelling involved in this book to cram it into only one two and half hour movie.

This Part 1 is already a very full two and half hours. The drama begins even before the opening credits roll. The special effects have reached a new high point with the trick of using polyjuice potion to create multiple Harry's. The frenetic escape of Harry in Hagrid's motor sidecar is an achievement in action editing. The trio's penetration of the Ministry of Magic to get the locket horcrux is very exciting and tension-filled.

Momentum dips a bit in the midsection as our trio scour the English wilderness for a way to destroy the horcrux. This prolonged section, which some may find boring, dealt more with the personal relationships loyalty of the three friends as challenges are thrown their way. The segment is marked by the hard-to-watch bloodlust of Bellatrix Lestrange and the nobility of Dobby. Watch out too for a most unexpected dance scene which will surely make you smile, if not actually chuckle!

In the third section, we learn what the "deathly hallows" are referred to in the title as our trio learns it from Xenophilius Lovegood. But the main highlight here is a most amazing animated short featurette called "The Tale of Three Brothers" as narrated by Hermione. This Part 1 ends very well with a sky-splitting final cliffhanger sequence.

Its been repeatedly mentioned how the main actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have all grown up in front of our eyes as this movie series unfolded. Rupert and Emma are both taller than Daniel already! Acting-wise, everyone had likewise improved very much. They all even show some skin here. Yes, even Hermione! The support from the esteemed gallery of British actors and actresses serve the film very well indeed. We saw everyone from all the previous films it seems, except for Maggie Smith.

The direction of David Yates is excellent as he did in the last two films. Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves got just the proper mix of action, drama and humor needed to make the saga work on screen. This may just be a set-up installment, however, it stands very strong on its own merits. As the last scene faded to black, the audience will definitely develop the resolve to watch out for the concluding part to be released next summer, and witness the epic Battle of Hogwarts.