Solidly entertaining despite feeling a bit like it's in a holding pattern but helped by the very dark tone to this penultimate film

Rating: Null/10 (5 April 2011)

Voldemort's power is increasing and has taken control of Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic. Those standing against him have fled to regroup in a safer place albeit at great personal risk to themselves in their attempts to protect Harry. When Harry decides to find the rest of the Horcruxes to be able to defeat him, his friends agree to join him. However as darkness grows in the world at large, the trio find themselves facing impossible odds as they discover that Voldemort is pursuing three powerful objects of legend in the world of magic.
It took quite a few films but once the series moved away from the introductory stages and got darker, I have started to enjoy them a lot more. OK, I'm not into the story so much that I'm frantic for the final film to come but I am finding the dark tone and content to be much more engaging and satisfying than the more colourful opening films. So I come to the penultimate in the series – although it is the final book split into two parts, which is the better decision since this film runs a bit too long while only covering half of it! HP7a wastes no time in getting dark as we open with several scenes of danger and it sets the tone for the rest of the film where there are many sequences and events that will challenge younger viewers. As an adult (of sorts) I enjoyed this and found that it made the danger more real within the film and thus engaged me more. It needed to do this because there are longer sections of the film where the main characters are hiding out and the drama is between them; these didn't work as well for me because I have less of myself invested in them as people, however they are well interspersed with action so that it never really feels like it is sagging too much.
Of course sagging (or rather, lack of conclusion) is a bit of a problem in the film because it is only half of it. The ending in particular does provide a cliff hanger but it doesn't manage to overcome the feeling that, like the lead three, we're waiting for something to happen for a lot of the film rather than actually having a lot happen. It does still work though and I mostly enjoyed it; it helps a lot that the film looks great and that the special effects work to assist the dark content. The cast are reasonably good although some of the dialogue in the character driven scenes I did find a little clunky. The lead three have grown into the parts and mostly they avoid melodrama when there is tension between them. The support cast are generally strong and made up of essentially every living British actor doing small turns to good effect.
Harry Potter 7a is not a brilliant film by any means and it does struggle with the fact that it is waiting for the conclusion rather than being the conclusion. However it does provide frequent dark sections and action which keep it lively but have the downside of risking frightening away younger viewers. This dark tone does really make it for me as the film engaged me by just how bleak it was in terms of content and cinematography and, while it is understandably not as good as I would have liked, I did enjoy it and I am now looking forward to a conclusion that can keep this dark, adult tone but also bring everything to a close.