The Beginning of the Wizarding End...

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows – David Yates

The boy who lived returns! Could this be one of the biggest, most anticipated films of the year, maybe of the century? Ever since the series began, this is the point we would be getting to, the end. And sure, this is the first part so it’s not technically the end, but its close. Next year in the summer we’ll finally know what happens between the biggest rivalries since David vs. Goliath, Alien vs. Predator, Freddie vs. Jason, hell even bigger than Biggie and Tupac. That’s how big this is. It’s the massive movie fight we’ve been waiting for. Unfortunately it isn’t like that, the fight hasn’t started yet. It’s more similar to having the shark in Jaws where it only appears in the last 20 minutes where he is constantly there but you don’t see it. And in Resident Evil: Nemesis the game, where you know the villain is stalking you throughout the game and he is closely behind you but never comes out of the darkness. Voldemort is in the shadows, waiting for Potter to show himself and for the whole saga to finish. It has the feel of urgency more than the rest of the entries into the series, where it really matters the littlest actions that Potter and his friends do.

The long awaited first part to the two part Deathly Hallows story sees Potter and the rest of the group consisting of The Weasley’s, Hagrid, Tonks, Mad Eye Moody, Lupin, Hermione and a few others must make sure Harry is safe from the upcoming battle against death eaters. The death eaters are Voldemort’s minions on the hunt for him and at the beginning, with a few dead, including mad eye and Hedwig, Harry’s owl, he safely gets away but only to find himself, Ron and Hermione begin to wonder what to do and they go in search of horcrux, objects that Voldemort split his soul into as a way of preserving himself, meaning he could never die. After finding three of the horcrux in the way of the Tom Riddle diary of the Chamber of Secrets, a locket in a lake, found by the help of Ron, and a stone in the form of a ring which Dumbledore nearly died from capturing, it seems as though 4 remain after this film. I love the whole idea of the horcruxes being the only way to defeat him and then another plot thread becomes entangled with this. The story of The Deathly Hallows, told in the way of an animation, three objects created by death himself is handed down with each one granting different powers but together could be deadly. The Elder Wand, the Resurrection stone and the Invisibility Cloak all form the Hallows, and knowing these objects are real, Harry soon begins to wonder about finding them, unfortunately, the wand is in the possession of Voldemort.

The action scenes are great and something I’ve always missed from the films, just wand duelling, which is rarely seen, but quite enjoyable to watch. A scene in a cafe is great, and i would love to see more of this, wizards acting in a much more realistic way having duels to the death. They are weapons themselves with the amount of power they hold within their wands and it’s great to have that thought in your head. Especially as they are the age you, just imagine the amount of power you have from it. Overall a good part of the franchise but does feel like filler, but this is the dip to the end, it’s a rollercoaster ride planned for the audience to get low, ready for the massive high, coming next year in July.

7/10

Simon Childs