Carl the Critic: Reviews "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" Parts 1 & 2

Experience/Expectation: It's been ten years since the first film came out in 2001, and now as I look back on every film in the Harry Potter Series, none has ever been as highly anticipated as this, or should I say these. I felt that the Parts one and two of book seven should be treated as one movie because it is one story, the same way that "Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2" are one story. But now let's get right down to the story itself.

Story: Instead of going to Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione pursue the horcruxes which will kill the evil Lord Voldemort. Time is not on Harry's side, as Voldemort becomes more and more aware that Harry and his friends are out to look for them. As we continue the film, we run into characters who help them, betray them, or both.

Oh yeah, and there are "The Deathly Hallows" which consists of the most powerful wand in the world, a resurrection stone, and an invisibility cloak, which some how ties into the plot because Voldemort is searching for the wand while Harry is looking for horcruxes.

Critique: Let's get the good over with quickly. It follows the book closely, which is what the fans of the series want, and the story's conclusion fits perfectly, the sound and production design are great, music score is beautiful, acting is great, and the editing overall is quite good. If you are a huge fan of the series, as I am, you will enjoy this movie and it deserves the praise it receives.

Right, now time to nit pick at the minor bad qualities that I personally found annoying. First of all, what is the deal with Harry and Hermione? Why is that after Ron has a hissy fit and leaves, Harry and Hermione take this as a perfect opportunity to stop the film and dance, and this creates a moment strong sexual chemistry, which is not necessary to the film. It seems that Harry and Hermione have a stronger connection than Harry and Ginny, or Ron and Hermione.

The problems that I had with the first part of book seven are minor things, like the 3-D only being a part of Part 2 instead of both. The first part actually looked like it was shot in 3-D, but was displayed in 2-D, which was the exact opposite problem that "The Green Hornet" had.

Along with a confusing romance, about 25% of the film is very slow moving, corny, jarring, or too serious. The majority of the scenes were of Harry staring at the scenery while the camera pans around. In one scene Snape was crying over the dead body of a woman he loved, and although the shot was beautifully composed, and Alan Rickman is an outstanding actor, the expression on his face did not suggest he was crying, but instead looked more like a mix of crying and laughing.

In both films it seems, especially the second one, the dialogue tends to repeat itself after it has already been said. An example that I can think of on the top of my head was when we are in the memory of Snape as he is telling someone "So the boy must die?" where the person he talks to replies with "yes", and then five minutes later asks the same question. Apparently Snape's memory isn't that great, or the movie felt that the audience were idiots.

But these are the meanest things I can say about Harry Potter, and if you are a huge Harry Potter Fan, such as myself, you will enjoy the film, and it is definitely worth your time. It might not be an Oscar ^TM contender for Best Picture, (because if "The Dark Knight" (2008) wasn't nominated neither will this), but it has so many great elements to it, that everything negative that I had said about it can be over looked. And despite what I said about Alan Rickman's one scene, he does deserve recognition and I would be very happy if he gets a Best Supporting Actor Nomination (he doesn't have to win, but he deserves a nomination at least) for his portrayal of the dark, and complex character of Snape.

Overall: I'd give Harry Potter a 9.0, for having a good story, acting, editing, sound and production design, and has a beautiful sound track.