Jason KingHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 1. (9/10)
November 22nd 2010 02:26
:
Love You Harry
Category: Reviews
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 1. (9/10)
OK - it is hard for me to review a Harry Potter film while remaining neutral. My reactions to a Potter film are like that of 14yr old girl at a Justin Bieber concert. I basically go apeshit. My biggest mistake of watching the last Potter film, The Half Blood Prince, is that I read the book again a couple of weeks prior to the film's release, and I got to see everything that was missed. When I wrote the review for HBP, which you can read HERE, I ripped it a new one as I was so mortified at what they did with it. I have since watched it again after months had passed and into the lead up for this one and I actually didn't mind it as much. It is still the worst one in the series for me but it is not as bad as I originally wrote. With this one I learnt from my mistakes and refused to re-read the book. And it payed off - this film is brilliant.
Harry, Ron and Hermione set out on their perilous mission to track down and destroy the secret to Voldemort's immortality and destruction -- the Horcruxes. On their own, without the guidance of their professors or the protection of Professor Dumbledore, the three friends must now rely on one another more than ever. But there are Dark Forces in their midst that threaten to tear them apart. Meanwhile, the wizarding world has become a dangerous place for all enemies of the Dark Lord. The long-feared war has begun and Voldemort's Death Eaters seize control of the Ministry of Magic and even Hogwarts, terrorizing and arresting anyone who might oppose them. But the one prize they still seek is the one most valuable to Voldemort: Harry Potter.
The Chosen One has become the hunted one as the Death Eaters search for Harry with orders to bring him to Voldemort...alive. Harry's only hope is to find the Horcruxes before Voldemort finds him. But as he searches for clues, he uncovers an old and almost forgotten tale -- the legend of the Deathly Hallows. And if the legend turns out to be true, it could give Voldemort the ultimate power he seeks. Little does Harry know that his future has already been decided by his past when, on that fateful day, he became "the Boy Who Lived." No longer just a boy, Harry Potter is drawing ever closer to the task for which he has been preparing since the day he first stepped into Hogwarts: the ultimate battle with Voldemort.
They did an epic job on this one, David Yates has bettered his efforts on Half Blood Prince, but in my opinion has not gotten to his best The Order of the Phoenix but he has made a remarkable beginning to the final instalment. Considering M. Night Shyamalan wanted to direct this one hahahahahaha (not likely you goose) and Guillermo del Toro even expressed interest Yates has gone above and beyond in his delivery. When producers decided to split the film into two instalments I could not have been more happier. Not only did it save me from getting upset at all the stuff they missed from the book but it will give them the opportunity to make the film as close to the book as they could.
The film opens with the strongest first hour of any film in the franchise and will have you mesmerised at the best special effects in all of the films. But like the book the one thing that lets the film down is the lull in the middle. The three leads end up on a road trip into the unknown while they hide from Voldermort and the Death Eaters. They are confused and don't know how to progress in locating the Horcruxes. After the excitement of the first hour the film moves to a slow pace and then picks it up again towards the end. While I did not love this in the book or the movie it does highlight they are keeping this as close to the book as possible and creating the "Empire Strikes Back" of the franchise and placing the characters in the worst possible situation where all seems lost just before the final battle and fight for survival and all things good in this world.
They do make a few alterations from the book but to be honest I enjoyed them. One notable one is when Harry and Hermione enter Godric's Hollow, Hermione says that they should have used Polyjuice Potion. This is a reference to the fact that, in the book, they did. Minimal effect to story and Polyjuice had already been used in the film to great effect, no need to overdo it. The scene where they do use the polyjuice is quite funny.
This film is by far one of the saddest ones, I remember crying when Dumbledore died and this film is no less sad, a few of your favourite characters will die and this is only the first half as many of your faves will die before the end of the series, but good people have to die in war for good to overcome evil. I just want to say I hate you Dolores Umbridge, Bellatrix Lestrange and Lord Voldermort.
The success in the films comes from the actors and the successful transfer of the tale from book to film. Most people moped about the young kids in the first films and how they could not act. The first film is still one of my faves of the bunch as it introduced me into the world of HP. And we have watched these young kids grow up like family members and it is astounding how good they have gotten. They have grown up from Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Gint and Emma Watson into Harry, Ron and Hermione and it shows onscreen. Radcliffe can easily hold a scene with Ralph Fiennes or Helena Bonham Carter. That being said I do think that Helena Bonham Carter steals every scene she is in with these movies. She is easily the most embodied actor to character in the series and her Bellatrix is just chilling.
Another character who steals the show is Dobby (voiced by Toby Jones). In every scene he is in I get excited. He has been dubbed as the Jah Jah Binks of the franchise but he succeeds like C3PO did in the original series where Jah Jah just epically failed. He is a knight in shining armour and I will forever love him
.
The producers of the Twilight series should have used these films as a template of how to successfully bring a book series to film. I like the Twilight films but to overcome the production qualities of Bold and The Beautiful I have to suspend my disbelief. With the Potter films there is no need to suspend belief - I believe and more than that it makes feel the excitement I did when I was a child - I want to rip out my collector's limited edition bloody expensive Harry wand replica and have battles in my own backyard with friends.
Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows Pt 1 is out now and is a mind blowingly brilliant commencement to the showdown. Watch it STAT. And kids - turn off your bloody phone when watching it as I nearly Avra Kadavred you for FBing your enjoyment at every scene in the cinema. And to the mother sitting next to her - is it possible to bring your children up a bit better than that! Worth 9 out of 10.
OK - it is hard for me to review a Harry Potter film while remaining neutral. My reactions to a Potter film are like that of 14yr old girl at a Justin Bieber concert. I basically go apeshit. My biggest mistake of watching the last Potter film, The Half Blood Prince, is that I read the book again a couple of weeks prior to the film's release, and I got to see everything that was missed. When I wrote the review for HBP, which you can read HERE, I ripped it a new one as I was so mortified at what they did with it. I have since watched it again after months had passed and into the lead up for this one and I actually didn't mind it as much. It is still the worst one in the series for me but it is not as bad as I originally wrote. With this one I learnt from my mistakes and refused to re-read the book. And it payed off - this film is brilliant.
Harry, Ron and Hermione set out on their perilous mission to track down and destroy the secret to Voldemort's immortality and destruction -- the Horcruxes. On their own, without the guidance of their professors or the protection of Professor Dumbledore, the three friends must now rely on one another more than ever. But there are Dark Forces in their midst that threaten to tear them apart. Meanwhile, the wizarding world has become a dangerous place for all enemies of the Dark Lord. The long-feared war has begun and Voldemort's Death Eaters seize control of the Ministry of Magic and even Hogwarts, terrorizing and arresting anyone who might oppose them. But the one prize they still seek is the one most valuable to Voldemort: Harry Potter.
The Chosen One has become the hunted one as the Death Eaters search for Harry with orders to bring him to Voldemort...alive. Harry's only hope is to find the Horcruxes before Voldemort finds him. But as he searches for clues, he uncovers an old and almost forgotten tale -- the legend of the Deathly Hallows. And if the legend turns out to be true, it could give Voldemort the ultimate power he seeks. Little does Harry know that his future has already been decided by his past when, on that fateful day, he became "the Boy Who Lived." No longer just a boy, Harry Potter is drawing ever closer to the task for which he has been preparing since the day he first stepped into Hogwarts: the ultimate battle with Voldemort.
They did an epic job on this one, David Yates has bettered his efforts on Half Blood Prince, but in my opinion has not gotten to his best The Order of the Phoenix but he has made a remarkable beginning to the final instalment. Considering M. Night Shyamalan wanted to direct this one hahahahahaha (not likely you goose) and Guillermo del Toro even expressed interest Yates has gone above and beyond in his delivery. When producers decided to split the film into two instalments I could not have been more happier. Not only did it save me from getting upset at all the stuff they missed from the book but it will give them the opportunity to make the film as close to the book as they could.
The film opens with the strongest first hour of any film in the franchise and will have you mesmerised at the best special effects in all of the films. But like the book the one thing that lets the film down is the lull in the middle. The three leads end up on a road trip into the unknown while they hide from Voldermort and the Death Eaters. They are confused and don't know how to progress in locating the Horcruxes. After the excitement of the first hour the film moves to a slow pace and then picks it up again towards the end. While I did not love this in the book or the movie it does highlight they are keeping this as close to the book as possible and creating the "Empire Strikes Back" of the franchise and placing the characters in the worst possible situation where all seems lost just before the final battle and fight for survival and all things good in this world.
They do make a few alterations from the book but to be honest I enjoyed them. One notable one is when Harry and Hermione enter Godric's Hollow, Hermione says that they should have used Polyjuice Potion. This is a reference to the fact that, in the book, they did. Minimal effect to story and Polyjuice had already been used in the film to great effect, no need to overdo it. The scene where they do use the polyjuice is quite funny.
This film is by far one of the saddest ones, I remember crying when Dumbledore died and this film is no less sad, a few of your favourite characters will die and this is only the first half as many of your faves will die before the end of the series, but good people have to die in war for good to overcome evil. I just want to say I hate you Dolores Umbridge, Bellatrix Lestrange and Lord Voldermort.
The success in the films comes from the actors and the successful transfer of the tale from book to film. Most people moped about the young kids in the first films and how they could not act. The first film is still one of my faves of the bunch as it introduced me into the world of HP. And we have watched these young kids grow up like family members and it is astounding how good they have gotten. They have grown up from Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Gint and Emma Watson into Harry, Ron and Hermione and it shows onscreen. Radcliffe can easily hold a scene with Ralph Fiennes or Helena Bonham Carter. That being said I do think that Helena Bonham Carter steals every scene she is in with these movies. She is easily the most embodied actor to character in the series and her Bellatrix is just chilling.
Another character who steals the show is Dobby (voiced by Toby Jones). In every scene he is in I get excited. He has been dubbed as the Jah Jah Binks of the franchise but he succeeds like C3PO did in the original series where Jah Jah just epically failed. He is a knight in shining armour and I will forever love him
.
The producers of the Twilight series should have used these films as a template of how to successfully bring a book series to film. I like the Twilight films but to overcome the production qualities of Bold and The Beautiful I have to suspend my disbelief. With the Potter films there is no need to suspend belief - I believe and more than that it makes feel the excitement I did when I was a child - I want to rip out my collector's limited edition bloody expensive Harry wand replica and have battles in my own backyard with friends.
Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows Pt 1 is out now and is a mind blowingly brilliant commencement to the showdown. Watch it STAT. And kids - turn off your bloody phone when watching it as I nearly Avra Kadavred you for FBing your enjoyment at every scene in the cinema. And to the mother sitting next to her - is it possible to bring your children up a bit better than that! Worth 9 out of 10.
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