Name of Topic Being Reviewed: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1
Category: Movie
Rating:

Well...to tell you the truth, I came in the cinema half-thinking that they will not give the movie justice. Being someone who wants movies to be very close to the book as much as possible, I was really afraid that they would make the same mistake as they did with Azkaban and being the last book (second to the last movie), I had more or less a high expectation for this movie. It was a good thing that they did it enough justice for me to be happy with the results.

The movie had done it's best to keep to the book as much as they can. Of course, there isn't without the slight changes here and there but it was negligible. The changes made from book to movie didn't really affect the whole storyline like what previous Harry Potter movies had done before. The storyline was seamless and they have connected the events pretty well.

The settings and the scenery was really amazing. The production was more or less well researched that the scenes were just like how they described it in the book.

The actors had played their parts really well. You can feel their emotions when they act and you couldn't help but laugh, cry or feel anger with each scene. They take you through the experience with such clarity that you would feel for them each and every time.

The plot line was very much based on the book. Unlike previous Potter films I wasn't looking for scenes that should be there but they didn't include. The scenes that were shone were all important and I left the movie theater not wondering what happened to this particular scene and that.

The effects were superb. I have to commend all the visual effects companies that they have gotten for this movie. ILM wasn't tapped for this movie but the other companies like Double Negative and MPC (I could recall that there were 4 more visual effects team but I can't recall), did a very great job with the visual effects. The effects were seamless. And they had done a really great job in editing. I especially loved the scene with the seven Potters trying to escape Privet Drive to the Burrows. The contrast between the smoke from flying Death Eaters and the Order was well done. It looked like they were really floating. The same goes for Harry's chase scene around the streets of London in Hagrid's motorcycle. I was holding my breath the whole time it was happening. The chase looked so real that I would be surprised if I find out that it was done behind the blue screen (or green for that matter).

The whole movie gave a good balance of comedy, drama and action. They distributed it in such a way that whole experience was balanced. There wasn't too much drama and the action scenes were just right. The comedic parts were just perfect to keep light some very scary scenes.

With all the praises that I have been doing, you might be wondering why I only rated it four out of five. I guess, my small problem with the movie was the camera angles, especially during the time when the three heroes were being chased by Greyback. The camera was all over the place, I could barely see what was happening. And it was such a great chase scene too. It just looked like the camera man was running with them while they were doing the scene that it was very confusing and dizzying.

And also one flaw with the storyline where Harry and Draco did a short tug of war for Draco's wand. Following the book and the rules of the wand, Harry wouldn't be able to use Draco's wand properly because he just stole it from him. If they had done a real duel like what happened in the book, then the wand would submit have not problem submitting to Harry.

But all in all, a very great movie. They had done the ending in such a way that it was open ended leaving you anticipating for part 2 but at the same time, they have cut it just right, like closing a chapter of the book and then restarting a different chapter altogether.

Needless to say, I can't wait for the next movie...which would be a long wait since it would be showing in July 2011.