User blog comment:Kacieh/Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part 1 Review Page/@comment-3240889-20101201010118

In my opinion, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One is the most complete Harry Potter film despite depicting only one half of the 7th book. I felt like not only have the actors matured into their roles fully but so too has the director created a vision that never loses pace and sets up the second half of the story brilliantly. One of the challenges I was eager to see tackled by this film was putting what is largely a lot of build-up and plot description into an entertaining film. I thought HPDH: P1 handled this admirably and really set the tone for what looks like will be a show-stopping finale. I was surprised by the film’s darkness but that really worked in the story’s favor by showing just how desolate and bleak that Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s situation actually was as illustrated in the novel. I also feel like this was significant considering that the second half will be even more dark and depressing. I always believed that the first part of the book makes you feel that Voldemort has the upper hand and I also felt like the film represented this aspect as well. There were moments that were genuinely scary and tense but all of this was done in addition to progressing the story. I don’t think there was a lull in the film and even the moment where Hermione narrates the history of the Deathly Hallows that was accompanied by animation was somehow very fitting. Were there moments in the book I wish hadn’t been left out? Sure. Having the moment that Dudley thanks Harry for saving his life would have tied up the Dursleys’ story arc nicely…which I always felt was one of the more touching aspects of the story. But, overall, I was very impressed with the film as it had genuinely emotional, portrayed the salient points of the plot beautifully, and was very awe-inspiring visually. Like a good appetizer, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One keeps you satisfied until the main course…July 2011 can’t come soon enough!