An improvement since six, but still not great

Rating: 6/10 (21 November 2010)

Harry Potter 7 depicts the first half of the final book in the Harry Potter series.
Overall, this film was definitely an improvement from its predecessor. Unfortunately, this is more of a testament to the badness of six than one to the goodness of seven.
I suppose I shall list out the good and the bad.
THE GOOD:
Acting The acting on the part of the young wizarding trio was in this film was definitely dramatically better than in previous films. The acting experience that Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson have accrued over their careers shows in this film, and I thoroughly enjoyed their portrayals of their respective characters. Not only did they give more realistic performances in the dramatic and intense scenes, they also balanced their characters by giving very real, down-to-earth performances in the more chill scenes. The integration of humor in this film contributed largely to this balance.
Wit One of the few good aspects of the sixth film was the wit that was put into the script. In this film, the humor makes itself increasingly present and integrates better into the script. The entire audience got a lot of laughs out of the one-liners in this film. In addition, the humor added a more personable, identifiable nature to each of the main characters, especially Ron Weasley.
Story This film stayed far more loyal to its corresponding book than did the sixth. It skipped ahead in the beginning a bit, but overall it included most of the important events of the book.
THE BAD:
Story Unfortunately, the story also has a negative side to it. Although it was an improvement to the sixth, it was still very rushed. Many of the big events of the story were not fully developed, and thus they seemed out of place. For instance, Ron's departure from the trio comes very suddenly, and lacks the pretext that it had in the books. Many events, including the battle with the seven Potters, and the kidnapping of Harry, Ron, and Hermione by the Snatchers, also seemed very random, since they were not built up to. And finally, many plot details were left out that make the movie confusing to those who haven't read the book. Those who have not read the book will not understand what the mirror shard Harry is always looking into is, nor will they be able to decipher who Grindelwald really is, nor will they understand how the Elder Wand really works, nor will they understand how Harry repelled Voldemort during the seven Potters scene.
Directing Okay, I had a big problem with the way many of the scenes were filmed. A lot of intense scenes disappointed me, as they did not nearly match up with what I imagined they'd be. The seven Potters scene, for instance, was a major flop. The very essence of the ambush was compromised, and to me, it almost seemed as if the Order was attacking the Death Eaters. The chase through the forest (when the trio gets snatched) was also not a welcome change to the plot for me. Harry's accidental breaking of the Taboo was much better than the trio randomly apparating in front of a team of Snatchers, in my opinion. Overall, the directing was one of my biggest problems with this movie. I should note, however, that there was one particular scene I really enjoyed, and that was the reading of the tale of the Deathly Hallows.
Musical Score The musical score of this film was composed in a very safe manner. In other words, it was nothing really new or exciting. Instead, the score was very plain and simple. It's my belief that as a film series progresses, the musical score should get bolder and bolder. With Harry Potter, however, it stays stagnant throughout the series.
Overall, it's one of the better films of the series, but still not what I would hope for a Harry Potter story. If you have read the book, this film will make much more sense.