The seventh and final installment of Harry Potter, written by J.K. Rowling, hit the book stands three years ago in July, and ever since then the wait has been on. Those that followed Harry Potter through cinema were stoked as the long-awaited finale was announced, the date set, and at long last, the premiere finally in effect.
Actors Daniel Radcliffe, as Harry Potter, Rupert Grint, as Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson, as Hermione Granger, started their million-dollar career ten years ago as mere children. Now, with the final installments in the works, all three put forth an amazing performance to finish out their long almost ten-year run, with the seventh novel being split into two halves.
The movie starts off focused on all three main characters and their current lives outside of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Since the death of Dumbledore and Harry's assignment to find and destroy the Horcruxes that contain parts of Voldemort's soul, all three have decided to leave the safety of the school.
One of the more intense scenes begins the long movie; Harry must be removed from his childhood home before he turns seventeen because at that time the protective charms that have kept Voldemort at bay will break. The members of the Order, a group of wizards out to destroy Voldemort, decide to thicken the plot by having seven Potter's take to the air as opposed to one. What follows is an epic in-sky battle as each fight the mass amount of Death Eaters (Voldemort's followers) that are waiting for them.
It is upon arrival at the Weasley's house that everyone realizes they have somehow been betrayed. Once safe though, all three friends realize that their safety will forever be short-lived as long as Voldemort is at large, as seen at the wedding of Ron's brother when Death Eaters break through the protective enchantments and almost capture Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Add the fact that Voldemort has infiltrated the Ministry of Magic, and all seems hopelessly bleak and very impossible. From that moment on they are all three on the run and wanted, all the while attempting to discover and destroy the dangerous and very much alive Horcruxes that contain Voldemort's soul.
After that, the intensity only grows. I found myself perched and breathless as scene after scene presented itself flawlessly on the big screen. The portrayal of book was closely matched by the movie, with scenes missing here and there, but overall everything was very well-represented.
Not only did the movie capture the essence of the book, but it also enhanced the characters that live between its pages. This movie greatly explored the friendship and relationship between the three friends, pushing them to their emotional limits and pulling against their bonds of love, trust, and devotion. One night Ron breaks down from the constant stress of remaining in hiding and worrying about his family, yelling and accusing Harry of leading them on fruitless and impossible journey; "I thought you knew what you were doing!" he yells. Harry, in a rage, screams, "Fine then, go! Just go!" Ron asks Hermione to accompany him as he leaves, but she declines, a refusal that strikes a deep chord within Ron and sends Hermione into a listless melancholy.
But that's not even half the plot this movie is dealing with. Enter the Deathly Hallows. Harry, while delving into both the past and future, stumbles across the 'something that Voldemort didn't have last time." The Deathly Hallows are introduced by Mr. Lovegood, Luna's father, through a creatively designed story, presented like paper cutouts on the big screen, pulling the audience into a very important subplot.
Many readers were curious as to where they would split the book, and I for one was disappointed where they decided. The final scene's show Hermione being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange, as played by Helena Bonham Carter, Dobby taking a knife as he transports them all the safety, and Voldemort gaining the first and most powerful of the Deathly Hallows: the Elder Wand. Overall, a pretty bleak ending for the already-dark movie to end on.
The movie, well full of important scenes, lacked a wider perspective, thus its low rating in the critic department. Because both director and actors were following the book as closely as possible, the movie lacked any real light at the end of the tunnel and any lull to calm the heart in between intense scenes was not present. The one complaint that followed me through the doors was that the movie was too suspenseful and dark. But in comparison, so the book is as dark and suspenseful. This is an indication that the time when Harry and Voldemort must faceoff is drawing nearer. Watch out for the second installment of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," coming to theaters in July of 2011.
Harry, Hermione and Ron narrowly escape the Death Eaters and land on the streets of London.