Written by J.K Rowling and Steve Cloves
Directed by David Yates
Review
Definately the best film of the series. On the whole I have not been a fan of the films so far. But this in its part 1 form, after the wise decision to split the book in two does not disappoint.
The problem with the past films was that they had so much material to squeeze into less than three hours and they could not do it without making the plot move to clunkily or hastily. Or allow enough time for character growth or for audiences to connect with them. Main example being that no one cared when Dumbledore died despite it being a huge event in the books.
Thankfully, this installment does not suffer from this problem and the story moves at a comfortable pace. Characters reappear from previous chapters, some of which would probably be a little harder to remember had you not read the books and only seen the films, what with their back stories not fully given. Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacours wedding or even courtship a meaningless surprise rather than a gradual progression.
These are problems left over from the other films though and not to this ones fault.
The previously slated acting abilities of some of the cast have considerably improved, Hermione manages some blood curdling screams in one scene.
The film also stayed quite faithful to the book, which is always nice, although an odd scene with naked CGI Harry and Hermione sticks in memory.
What also sticks in memory is Harry’s tendency to strip off at the slightest opportunity. I thought this was a family film.
Overall, a vast improvement on the saga’s previous efforts, with tension, excitement, humour, some scares and the fact that you get to see Fleur Delacour topless within the first ten minutes.
Looking forward to part 2.
Originally Published: 15 November 2010
