A-MAZ-ING (uh-maze-ing)!!!
There now. Now that I’ve got that out of the way, let’s get down to my review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, shall we? And just this once, since all hope for professionalism has flown directly out of the window, I’m going to cut straight to the chase. A sort of stream of consciousness review, if you will. Well, we waited until Sunday to let the crowds die down a bit. I bought the tickets early, and we showed up at The Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar about an hour and a half early (don’t worry about the wait, they serve beer!). We managed first position in the queue (yeah, our means of getting there were a bit dodgy) and ordered a pair of beers (see, I told you we had the wait covered). I ordered an appropriate English Dark Ale called Hobgoblin for myself, and a Blue Moon for Kelley.
They let us into the theater pretty early, and we enjoyed the typical pre-show entertainment that The Alamo is famous for while we decided what to order to eat. We decided on the green chile cheese fries as an appetizer, ordered refreshers for our drinks, and settled in for the show.
I never get very excited about something until it sure to happen (isn’t that pessimistic?), and my excitement swelled on cue when that trademark Warner Bros. symbol floated towards us from the screen and those familiar first notes from John Williams’ score came tinkling out of the surround sound speakers. The roller coaster ride had begun.
First of all, if you’ve never read a Harry Potter book or seen a Harry Potter movie, then you’re out of luck. I’m not going to summarize six book/film plots just because you’re too stubborn to get on the bandwagon. Now, for those of you that are up to speed, but haven’t yet seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, let me urge you to buy tickets as soon as possible, and see it. From start to finish, this is a beautiful film. And as far as I’m concerned, the best Potter film yet.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I has it all. It has happy. It has sad. It has funny, silly, drama, action, chases, magical shoot outs, anger, betrayal, redemption, daring rescues, and so much more.
Did I mention that it has sad?
Yeah, Harry, Hermione, and Ron have grown up. They have real issues to contend with in addition to all of the odd stuff the wizarding world is throwing at them, and all of those real human emotions and human situations create an environment that allows these characters to really stretch their legs and walk around in who they are as people, not just who they are as wizards and witches. So the movie has drama.
Check.
One thing that I think this film does better than any of the Potter films is action. The action scenes are well planned, well shot, and well written. The kind of magic these kids are tossing out is more likely to result in severe laceration than a bad case of acne. The sound effects and VFX used to convey the use of magic onscreen are some of the best I’ve ever seen. Make no mistake: the magic in this movie is to be taken seriously, and so are the people using it.
The shooting locations in this film are breathtaking, and provide some seriously juicy fodder for the cinematographer, who handles them brilliantly. The sets never feel grandiose just for the purpose of being grandiose. Every step in this film has been carefully planned, well thought out, and executed with the intention of bringing the ending of one of the most important book series’ of our time to life. From the direction to set design, to VFX, the film score, cinematography, acting, comedic timing, to the adaptation of the screen play; everything is spot on.
And if that isn’t saying enough, I have these closing remarks:
The last time I found myself thinking before a film was even over that I wanted to see it again was with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings adaptations. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I has taken its place amongst those movies in my mind. This is why I go to the movies, kids.
Score: 4/5
Kirk out.
CanNOT WAIT to see it!! Hopefully, we are going this weekend! I'm re-reading Deathly Hallows out of sheer jealousy of all the people who have been to see Part I. Glad you enjoyed!
ReplyDeleteGreat review. I, too, loved the movie. Agreed. It was beautifully shot and filmed.
ReplyDeleteJealous! I can't wait to see it, but I'm sure it'll be a few more weeks for me. Loved your review of it though! Made me even more excited about it (and this will be the first Potter movie I've seen in a theater).
ReplyDeletecaint wate,mate!C
ReplyDeleteSam-
ReplyDeleteI don't think I would take the kiddo. Just a warning. Let me know what you think.
Logan-
Thanks!
Paula-
Thanks for reading. Go see it soon!
Big Foot-
ReplyDeleteWhen are you going to see it?
Good review, Kris. I was one of the crazies that did the midnight thing. I can't wait to go back and see it again. One of the highlights was the explanation of the Deathly Hallows using that awesome stylized animation. And Kreature, so lifelike. Wow! Godric's Hollow was so creepy...you knew it was coming but I still jumped. Come on July 2011.
ReplyDelete**looking forward to your review of "Sabriel".
Kim-
ReplyDeleteI read a few film blogs regularly and I was astonished that so many people were bashing this film. It seems to me that this film stands alone in the Potter film series as a piece of art. I would even go so far as to say that this film takes itself a bit more seriously than the book it's adapted from. But it's been a long time since I read the book, and that view is probably tainted by time. The point is, I think that a lot of people want things to be very clear cut when it comes to their movie watching experience. Character's intentions and conflict resolution must be obvious, and if the story asks the viewer to invest any brain power in the experience then it's not worth the time.
I mean, honestly, even if you haven't read the books you should know that this film was split into two pieces from a book. Simple story arc(which everyone inherently understands) will tell you that a film that ends in the middle of a book is going to be anti-climactic. But people seemed surprised that it didn't have a more affecting end.
I, for one, do not like my stories spoon fed to me. I can appreciate what the filmmakers did, and I really appreciate the final product for the beautiful bit of filmmaking that is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I.
The jury is still out on Sabriel. I'm plowing through it a lot more slowly than I did the Dresden book, but Nix is taking his time getting into the meat of Sabriel's story, I think. I've also been very busy traveling here and there for Thanksgiving festivities, adorning the house with lights, and such. So I've been reading less than usual. I'll try to get a review up as soon as I'm done, though.
Thanks for reading and commenting!