Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I review round-up
The first batch of critics have seen the brand new Harry Potter film - and here's what they've been saying...
Appreciating that the box office performance of the next Harry Potter film clearly, er, depends on our review of it, the early opinions have nonetheless started rolling in. And there’s a real mix of reactions to it. The general feeling appears to be that at nearly two-and-a-half hours long, it’s a little flabby. But there appear to be more pros than cons. Here’s what the early reviews have been saying…
“More than even the most faithful of the earlier episodes, this film feels devoted above all to reproducing the novel onscreen as closely as possible, an impulse that drags it toward ponderousness at times and rather sorely tests the abilities of the young actors to hold the screen entirely on their own, without being propped up by the ever-fabulous array of character actors the series offers.”
“The tension never fades amid desperate chases, frantic escapes, titanic battles, noble deaths, electrifying encounters and enough humour to break the tension every now and again. The only real flaw is that we have to wait until July for the conclusion. Summer has never seemed so far away.”
“It’s not so much that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows feels at times largely indistinguishable from the six outings preceding it, nor even that part one offers so little in the way of resolution(part two will surely take care of that). It’s simply that it’s hard to mourn the demise of a franchise that was never more than half-alive to begin with.”
“Even at a running time of just under two-and-a-half hours, it feels as if [David] Yates is cramming in as much as he possibly can. Can Part II be better than this? You’ll have to wait until July to find out. But it’ll be no mean feat. “
“The movie runs for 146 minutes – not the longest in the series, but I’m sure there must be a spell that could have made at least 20 minutes of it disappear. Perhaps the filmmakers are preparing us for Part Two, which I hear could end up being the longest in the series because there’s so much that needs to be crammed into the final mix.”
As for our own review? You can expect that late tonight, if all goes to plan. And the film itself is on general release from 19th November…
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Editor, author, writer, broadcaster, Costner fanatic. Now runs Film Stories Magazine.