Excellent... but may cause drowsiness.

Rating: 8/10 (18 November 2010)

Although the story is spread out across 2 films, significant changes have been made to give the film better flow. These rewrites are much appreciated and stay as true as they can to the books, however these efforts are undercut by some really shoddy editing and some questionable calls from the director.
This Harry Potter sequel is the most classically British, meaning most of the dialog has been replaced by meaningful looks held for far too long. One can't help but wonder why some scenes drag on forever while other bits were cut out entirely. There were a few points in the movie where I asked myself, "Where did that come from? How did they get there?" Of course I can figure it out and fill in the blanks with my own imagination, but HP-DH1 forces you to do it so often, the audience deserves an IMDb credit.
Visually, this film is very well done. It's clear Harry Potter was intended for 3D, but the missing technology isn't missed at all. The graphics and effects are great, even without the glasses. While there are a few very typical 3D shots, like panning across computer generated landscapes and things jumping at the camera, it avoids being distracting and even enhances the scenes in some cases.
The books get darker as Harry gets older and The Deathly Hallows Part I matches the intensity readers are expecting. There are moments of levity (and laughably ridiculous moments of bad acting and trying too hard), but for the most part the film maintains its serious tone throughout. Most of the Harry Potter films have felt like really long trailers for the next movie, but surprisingly Part I of II stands on it's own in a way the other films have not (except maybe the first one). You know a second part is coming, but a clear line has been drawn in the story and they're careful not to indicate TOO much.
Overall, The Deathly Hallows Part I is one of the better Harry Potter movies and fans of the book will surely love how this story is told on film. Be warned, however- may cause drowsiness. Kids could have a hard time getting through the whole thing with their eyes open.