Still going strong!

Rating: 8/10 (23 November 2010)

I chose to go and see this on a cold damp Tuesday evening because I remember a bad experience watching the previous Harry Potter last year. I foolishly went on the Saturday of the opening week and the cinema was packed. It wasn't until the interval that I finally managed to threaten the teenager behind me enough to stop him kicking my seat all through the second half. But that was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away I must take some of my pills. Here's a very brief summary before I tell you what I thought of this one (summary haters please hide the chosen one in a forest while I write the next paragraph).
Lord Voldemort and his followers have taken over the Ministry of Magic and are hot on the trail of Harry Potter. Those loyal to him try to move him to a safer location, but they are betrayed and some of their number are killed or injured. After a further attack Harry, Ron and Hermione escape and decide to go it alone. They have discovered that one of the remaining Horcruxes is at the Ministry. Posing as three of the members of the Ministry they manage to steal the Horcrux, but have no way of destroying it. In his will, Dumbledor has left each of them an item that could help. Harry has been bequeathed the snitch he captured in his first game of quidditch as well as the Sword of Gryffindor which is currently lost. Hermione discovers that it is possible that the Sword could destroy the Horcrux. A mysterious light leads Harry to the sword and they are able to destroy the Horcrux. There a three more to be found and Lord Voldemort is becoming more and more powerful as time goes on. I have missed an awful lot out, but those are the salient points and, I hope, very few (if any) spoilers.
As we have come to expect, this is a beautifully made film, although much darker than the others. It was nice to see the three main characters out in the real world for a change. I love the animation that was used for the explanation of the meaning of the Deathly Hallows, beautifully done! Great performances all round, particularly from Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Rupert Grint as Ron and Emma Watson as Hermione. All are growing into fine actors.
As you may notice from reading my summary (assuming you weren't hiding in a forest), that a knowledge of all of the previous six episodes does help when watching this instalment. I did find it a bit hard to get into at first, but was soon enthralled again. The scenes in the ministry did remind me a little of Terry Gilliam's 1985 film Brazil and there are more than hits of 'The Lord of the Rings' throughout. Over all, a very good film and one I heartily recommend.
My score: 8.3/10