Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 1
Worst film in the series... unfortunately there's no way to skip it
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| Harry and friends running aimlessly through some foggy woods. Very apropos. |
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is not a short book. At over 600 pages, no two hour film (or two and a half hour film in this case), could possibly do it justice. So the producers wisely chose to spit it into two films. Unfortunately, it's still not enough. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 probably makes sense if you've read the book - but as is, it's a choppy mess. The film opens with the muggle world completely upended - people going into hiding and basically living in what seems like a war zone. When did this happen? What's going on? Who knows - it's never adequately explained... though the conclusion we are supposed to draw is that at some point Voldemort declared war on the muggle world to get Harry.
But it doesn't stop there. The protagonists, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, move from scene to scene with amazing rapidity, and little explanation. Character's motivations are often inadequately explained, and almost no scene in the movie makes sense if you spend too much time thinking about it. Things happen for no reason, and to top it off, the main characters - who have been through a lot at this point - act unbelievably stupidly, walking into traps, following ghost deers, and stripping naked and jumping in frozen lakes without telling anyone what they're doing. There's also a ton of amazing coincidences. Finding inscriptions in books like and just knowing they're important, teleporting (what's the point of magic trains and broomsticks anymore) to just the right place next to the lake with the relic they seek by accident... the list goes on and on.
Evidently, even split into two long films, still too much ended up on the cutting room floor. The deleted scenes, available on the DVD elucidate some of the plot holes - but not nearly enough. Unfortunately there's no way to skip this film - it's part one of a two parter, and as bad as it is seeing a disjointed two-and-a-half-hour film, walking into part two without seeing this one first would be ill-advised.
But it doesn't stop there. The protagonists, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, move from scene to scene with amazing rapidity, and little explanation. Character's motivations are often inadequately explained, and almost no scene in the movie makes sense if you spend too much time thinking about it. Things happen for no reason, and to top it off, the main characters - who have been through a lot at this point - act unbelievably stupidly, walking into traps, following ghost deers, and stripping naked and jumping in frozen lakes without telling anyone what they're doing. There's also a ton of amazing coincidences. Finding inscriptions in books like and just knowing they're important, teleporting (what's the point of magic trains and broomsticks anymore) to just the right place next to the lake with the relic they seek by accident... the list goes on and on.
Evidently, even split into two long films, still too much ended up on the cutting room floor. The deleted scenes, available on the DVD elucidate some of the plot holes - but not nearly enough. Unfortunately there's no way to skip this film - it's part one of a two parter, and as bad as it is seeing a disjointed two-and-a-half-hour film, walking into part two without seeing this one first would be ill-advised.
The Good:
- School's out - things get real
- The effects and cinematography are top-notch, as is the acting. In fact, nearly everything that did make it into the film is fantastic.
- It's a patchwork quilt of scenes strung together. If you're new to the series, don't even think of starting here.
- Hermione comes across as a total b*** in this one.
The Verdict:
*** out of *****
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