How glad I am, that this film is so different

Rating: 10/10 (13 November 2010)

"Deathly Hallows Part 1" follows the book closely, but misses out on a few interesting scenes, and then makes up a few additional scenes that are poignant and incredibly welcome.
In the beginning, it seems like the film's skipping through the book's content very quickly, but it makes sense, when you realise how much is going on. At the end, the beginning is far away, although the journey there doesn't make it seem like a long while.
General opinion seems to be that it drags in the middle, but, let's face it, so did the book. There's no real reason to complain about Endless Camping Trips at all, because the film moves from plot point to set piece to plot point all the time. There's some clever ways the film handles its exposition, although it is not without its faults.
The trio's acting is the second best thing in this film. Emma has improved loads over the past few years, and she seems to be at the top of her game in this film. Her acting is stellar. As usual, Grint gets saddled with the role of comic relief, but he also gets his chance to shine in an array of emotional scenes. Daniel manages to carry the story as the main character. The three manage to stand their own very well without the presence of the adult actors.
Speaking of adult actors, Nick Morran's Scabior is a delightful character - he's slightly perverted and he has a bit of a Jack Sparrow vibe going on. Peter Mullan's Yaxley was impressive and managed to be quite threatening. It is a shame that we see so little of Bill Nighy's character, the new Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour. The character was regrettably cut from the previous film, and I wish they hadn't, if only to see more of Nighy's impressive performance. Old-time familiar faces are great, as usual. Fiona Shaw gets but one shot of screen time, but the look in her eyes says so much about her character. Jasoon Isaacs is terrific as a broken and devastated Lucius Malfoy. The lack of Rickman is a shame, but the presence of Bonham Carter makes up for it. Big baddie Ralph Fiennes manages to finally be a menacing, scary Voldemort in the film's first scenes, but as the story progresses and he gets appearances in a few messy, rushed and disappointing visions, Voldemort's actions just don't continue being an ominous cloud of danger, as they should be.
The film's greatest achievement, however, is the animated sequence detailing the "Tale of the Three Brothers", an interesting wizard fairytale. It is a daring move from the filmmakers, one that will pleasantly surprise the audience.
The biggest letdown is how the film doesn't just keep going. After two-and-a-half hours, it doesn't feel like the story's finished. A few scenes were added to make the climax more exciting, but it's just a downright shame that the movie doesn't just continue for another hour or two.