Here there be spoilers. Beware all ye that dare tread on unknown ground this is my very quick review and recap of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One.
Before the opening credits have even begun, we are assaulted with headlines and voice over declaring the world of magic in a state of turmoil. Sightings of the dark mark have caused widesprad panic, and attacks on muggles have led both magic and muggle alike to fear and worry. Warner Bros did a fantastic job setting the tone early on in the film letting us all know that dark times are ahead. A truly touching moment is Hermione as she obliviates her parents.
If you haven't read the book, or seen the film yet, this is where you should stop reading. I'm not joking with you. Stop. Don't go any further. You have been adequately warned. Or warned enough for me to not feel bad about the spoilers.
Following the title sequence, we tag along with the ever menacing Severus Snape as he enters the Malfoy residence. I have to admit, I was slightly disappointed to not see his albino peacocks. It is just a small piece of the setting, but it is one that I take great joy in considering my love of peacocks in general, even when you consider the great peacock attack of 2007. I digress though, Severus enters and the death eaters are shown sitting at the Malfoy dining table, with Ms. Burbage levitating in her pre-kedavra'd state. Nagini is looking lovely, as always, and the Dark Lord is terrifying to behold. After a bit of blah blah, Burbage is killed. Grats to Tom Felton for the look of sheer awe and terror on his face when Burbage is kedavra'd.
Cutting to Harry saying his goodbyes to the not-quite-home he not-quite-loved all of these years. He makes a visit to the cupboard under the stairs providing a look of sadness and woe that I was sure Daniel Radcliffe wasn't capable of when I was in highschool and these movies first started. They keep with the lore and mythos of the movies, with the creation, ingestion and workings of polyjuice potion as his friends and compatriots take on Harry's form to fool the death eaters. Off they go.
We are blessed with a beautiful scene involving some great cinematography and a welcome change in comparison to our unfortunate experience with The Last Airbender. The green-screening is stunning in this film. I suppose it's only natural with the superior quality of the films thusfar. I am a little disappointed that hedwig is how Voldemort discovers the real Harry. I liked it far more when Stan was a big part of it. The return of Threstrals was a nice touch that made up for the lack of albino peacocks
Hedwig dying performed its job very well. It made death very real very quickly, by 20 minutes into the film, we have been prepared and told that characters we have grown to love have and will die. I very much enjoyed the look of loss in Radcliffe's eyes after Hedwig's death.
Arriving at the Weasley household, we have the expected fear and paranoia. There is a bit of confusion, as it to beanticipated, as we discover that, off-screen, mad Eye Moody has been killed, as Mundungus Fletcher, the rotten little sneak-thief took off almost immediately after their take off from the house on Privet. There is a moment of solace, as they discover further that George has lost an ear, no more identical twins it would seem.
Harry has a bad dream, as he remembers Dumbledore. Then, Ginny and he share an awkward, though entirely romantic kiss, which is quickly made more awkward by George getting a bit of something to drink.
There are some minor story developments which lead to the arrival of the Minister of Magic. I'm again disappointed though. There is little, if any mention of Bill & Fleur's wedding. The preparations were some of the funniest, heartwarmingiest moments in the entire book and I really wanted to have them be a part of the film in an effort to counteract the recent deaths and throw people off guard for a few minutes. It would have been nice to at least have some passing references to Fleur's obnoxious family.
The Minister gives Harry, Ron & Hermione Albus Dumbledore's legacy, and we continue on with the story. There are a few nice one-liners that weren't in the book, but nothing to write home to mom about. Beforeyou know it, we're having a wedding! Nothing like a future werewolf and an Eighth-Veela getting married to set the tone in a time when magical blood purity is the biggest deal since the boy who lived ... lived.
Regrettably, the managed to fail miserably at one very important aspect of the wedding. harry just sort of wanders about all willy-nilly. No joke. No polyjuice potion to be seen. Way to piss me off WB. Isn't he supposed to be hiding? I mean come on! No wonder the death eaters crash the wedding.
We finally get a scene with Luna's lovely father! This makes me needlessly thrilled. He is of course wearing the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, and soon after we get to hear bitchy old people be gossipy! Yay! Old people FTW!
Learning of the Minister's death, the fight scene at the wedding begins and ends almost instantly. I should take a moment to compliment the apparation effects are absolutely sensational. There is nothing more fantastic than these special effects.
We of course have the chase scene that lasts all of twelve minutes, including a few brief stops to sit and wait, and some divergence of information. It is a nice exposition, and the pacing, while awkward, works very well. Harry informs Rona and Hermione about the Horcruxes and they settled on 12 Grimauld Place as their hiding location for the time being. This of course annoys the shit out of Kreacher, but proves to be ever useful as they continue their ongoing planning and plotting for the coming trials and tribulations.
This brings us to about 45 minutes into the film. We discover the whereabouts of the locket that Harry and Dumbledore thought they had found previously. I'm not entirely thrilled with the lack of bonding with Kreacher, but Ihave already, by this point, made the decision that I'm going to just accept all of this as artitic license. As long as they get the really good stuff, that's all I care about.
About halfway through the film, I will take a break for the day, and deliver part two of my review/recap tomorrow afternoon.
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