Satisfying and well simply great!

Rating: 8/10 (13 December 2010)

Maybe the film company felt that by splitting the book into two movies they could make twice as much cash. But after seeing Part 1 I feel that even if money was the motive it was the right choice for the quality also. I was very satisfied with the film.
The seventh book was a great ending to a brilliant series. However if one splits it on the middle I think the first half is considerably weaker. The infamous camping parts where the book really started to drag. So one could expect the adaptation of the first part to feel a bit slower also. But I was positively surprised by how well they have succeeded, the film is not just very good on it's own but might even stand out as one of the better in the series. The series has gotten more and more mature for each film. Not just the tone and violence but also the characters, their emotions and such. It's great fun to see how the characters grow and the relations between them develop. It all works brilliant. I think the films have done well in capturing the feel of the characters form the books and in this film you get to follow them even closer. All the actors make a great performance. New additions to the cast Bill Nighy and Rhys Ifans are good and suit there roles fine. The tone of the film is pretty gray and sad like the story, but they have done it well to get the right feel without making it dull and empty. The film stays on track and keeps the right tone all the way. Doesn't add any unnecessary jokes and no cheesy scenes or dialogue which has happened in previous films. No attempts to make the film both mature and childish, something one could fear they would try. The action scenes in the Harry Potter films has never been the strong point. The characters and story is still the best but the action has gotten better and this is without doubt the best yet. Thanks to being split in two the story telling is much more detailed and done in a more graspable pace. The story has gotten more complicated but I feel it's easier to follow whats going on here than in Prisoner of Azkaban. I can't imagine how the story could be told in a good way in just one film, doing it like this was the best way.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is a superb film that greatly lives up to my expectations. All aspects of it are really well done, story telling, character development, depth and emotion, even great action. Looking forward to part 2 which I feel has all the capacity, meaning even more thrilling plot to be even better!