A tragic, beautiful movie with tremendous poignancy.

Rating: 10/10 (18 November 2010)

Never before have I felt so immensely satisfied with a Harry Potter movie.
The opening sequence may be one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking moments in the series. It is absolutely gut-wrenching to see how much Voldemort (menacingly played by Ralph Fiennes) has taken over and what has to be done to protect the ones we love. I've seen the movie three times (more than any Potter movie); and this particular moment never fails to move me.
The acting is absolutely spectacular in this movie. I'm so glad the trio stepped up their game because the movie would have collapsed had they not been up to the challenge. Emma was absolutely phenomenal; I was really quite impressed with her performance. Nuanced, poignant, and deeply affecting. She has come a very long way, and I'm grateful that she stepped up her game. Rupert was great. You could always tell in the past movies that he had potential, and it was certainly shown in this one. We get to see a very different side of Ron. Daniel gave a good performance, but he was the weakest of the three.
Sure enough, we get to the middle, which has been criticized by some. To me, a lot of the past movies in the series failed to capture a lot of the emotional resonance that were in the books. With Deathly Hallows 1, during the middle sequence, we are rewarded with some of the most beautiful, touching, and poignant moments in the series that define our heroes. These moments either made everyone in the theater giddy with happiness, or sad due to the losses. Deathly Hallows 1, above all else, is a coming-of-age tale, as our heroes that we have come to know and love change and develop into adults. A magnificent and highly moving evolution that was, unfortunately, sometimes sorely missing in the previous outings. Deathly Hallows 1 proves why we fell in love with witches and wizards, and it's because they're just like us, dealing with the same internal conflicts we all have gone or are going through.
The action sequences are excellent, and Yates has proved to be very apt at creating suspense. A lot of people jumped at one particular scene in the movie.
The cinematography (filmed by Eduardo Serra) is absolutely gorgeous and stunning to look at. I was in awe at the breathtaking beauty of England's countryside. Fortunately, not once did the very impressive special effects overwhelm a scene, which was very comforting. The production design is absolutely staggering, and Alexandre Desplat's haunting score blends in with the movie perfectly ('Obliviate' is one of the best tracks in the series).
Yates and Kloves have captured the essence of Rowling's very dark story with grace and potency, creating a movie that is extremely faithful to the source material both thematically and in content. This is by far the most satisfying movie in the series, and easily the most mature. I personally cannot see how any fan could be disappointed in it.