The Deathly Hallows Part 1 is the most ambitious movie of the Harry Potter series so far. Performances are solid all around, as they've always been for this series, and it's nice to see the cast get more comfortable with age. It's impressive to see such cohesiveness with such a large ensemble cast. If Rowling has any true skill it's writing likable characters, and that talent transfers to film perhaps better than ever. Unfortunately Alan Rickaman and Michael Gambon are largely absent from the movie, and their absence here is felt almost as strongly as their presence in previous installments. On the bright side, it'll only make their return in part 2 even more powerful.
This is easily the most faithfully adapted movie of the series, which often works to the movie's benefit, but occasionally holds it down. Part 1's biggest flaw is that it rarely feels like a standalone movie, mostly because it's not. It suffers from what bogs down a lot part 2s in trilogies: there's as much exposition and set-up for for the next installment as there is plot. And when the plot largely consists of finding one McGuffin after another, things grind to a halt whenever the plot's not moving forward. After seeing The Deathly Hallows part 1 I'm not convinced that the book needed two movies. It could have easily done with one long (think Return of the King long) installment that shaved down some of the slower scenes. With stronger pacing and a proper climax, I don't see what would stop the movie from being truly great.
Luckily, when Deathly Hallows part 1 works, it features some of the series' best moments, hitting all the right emotional notes. What the movie does best is mix the plot's heaviness and lightheartedness into a satisfyingly epic but never self-serious whole. The action scenes are genuinely spectacular and a somewhat darker sense of humor serves the movie well.
For all my complaints, The Deathly Hallows Part 1 achieved what's most likely its ultimate goal: it left me wanting more and raised my expectations for Part 2. And I have a feeling Part 1 will feel much more satisfying when I can watch both movies back to back. You can probably expect a re-examination of the movie once Part 2 is out, and perhaps a retrospective on the whole series. Until then I have to review Part 1 as is.
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