Best potter film by far... yet.

Rating: 10/10 (22 November 2010)

I LOVED IT. Not only has it been my favorite Harry Potter movie and was able to surpass HBP (which I thought was very hard), but it has been my favorite movie of all time. Like all harry potter movies have been, but this one was just. Incredible.
As you can see, I'm a huge fan of the movies, but let me point out I'm a bigger fan of the books, and Deathly Hallows was my favorite by far. So I guess that it didn't come as a surprise that this movie was my favorite.
But let's clear something: a huge fan I may be, but I'm not a crazy fan who'll just put 10 to every hp movie, regardless of what's in it. I like movies in general, all sorts (yes, I've seen the godfather and a lot of others critically praised movies, so I have references).
Now, DH1. Before I begin, I'm gonna have to admit that it took a second viewing for me to fully appreciate it. And even though that, I could tell the movie was amazing and that I'd really liked it. But in my second viewing I just admired everything. And that's what's gonna happen every time I watch it again.
First of, the acting was top-notch this time, better than ever. The older cast, as usual, was incredible, but it is of the trio I'm talking about right now. Even though OOTP and HBP had showed us that these guys had supreme talent, it is in this one that we see they're excellent actors. Dan Radcliffe makes every scene his own, and makes us laugh and gasp and cry if he wants to. His transmission of emotion when a certain character dies is breathtaking. Emma Watson steps up her game incredibly, and we can see that the exaggeration of the eyebrows is way in the past. It is one specific torture scene that shows she's grown into an incredible actress. And well Rupert Grint. He steals every scene he's in, and we can finally see another side of Ron, a scary in a good way side. There is a certain fighting scene or a locket scene in which he is just perfect. And Toby Jones as Dobby is totally worth mentioning.
I think it's time to say that this is the best adaptation yet. I can separate book from movie, because they're different mediums. But in DH1, it's like you didn't even have to. Attention to detail was impressive, and almost every part of the books was there. Did there had to be cuts and additions? Yes. But the final project was so epic that, even though in the first viewing I noticed some changes, in the second viewing I just forgot about it. So (as usual, I might add, but better than ever) I congratulate Steve Kloves for his script. It was incredible, and I think there'll hardly be disappointments this time from book purists. The only thing was Dumbledore's past, but that's like another book, and a couple of scenes which I'm happy with now.
The visual effects were top-notch. Every single scene that needed them handled them perfectly, and I'm proud to say that, even though there was a lot of action in the movie, the visuals were there to help the story, not to replace it. It was amazing: the house elves were admirable, the seven potters was just perfect, so was Bathilda (and terrifying, by the way), the locket scene, Malfoy manor, and so much more. Tim Burke and his crew did an amazing work, and if the Oscars have some credibility by now, it should totally win or at least get a nomination.
The score was amazing. In my first viewing I was kind of disappointed, but I know better now. It had to be discrete, not very loud, and had to capture the tension of the movie at all times. It achieved that and more. Even though Hooper's HBP and William's SS remain my favorite, Desplat worthily made it to my top 3. All I can say is that I can't wait to hear his score for the final hp movie.
The cinematography was amazing by Eduardo Serra, showing us very beautiful landscapes and still making us see the tension. As Delbonnel didn't win, he should.
Stuart Craig did just amazing as production designer, everything was so detailed and like the book. I have to admit I imagined a lot of the sets just like that in the book. He deserves a nomination too, and, in my opinion, he deserves to finally win.
Yet my biggest congratulations go to David Yates, his direction was as best as ever, improving the actors, enhancing the visuals, camera and score and costume and everything, and keeping a great pace with laughs, sobs and gasps. I totally disagree with the critic's opinion about slow tent scenes because, actually, the movie is so great that you feel they were 20 minutes. Yates captured the feel of the book perfectly. IMO, it's lucky that we have him, and I just can't wait to see how he ends the series, because I know it'll be brilliant just as he has done in OOTP, more in HBP and definitely in DH1. And well, how could this movie have gone wrong with such and amazing cast, crew and most of all, story. Jo Rowling gave us the best book ever, and its first half adaptation lived to its expectation. So it's all thanks to Jo, who by the way, made a terrific producer too.
So I can't wait to watch it again, and I can't wait (sad as it may be) to see the last movie. 10/10