Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows: Part 1

When J.K Rowling wrote her dedication for the seventh book in her famous fantasy series, she split it seven ways with the seventh part being to us, the readers, if we have "stuck with Harry until the very end." This established the tone as powerfully ominous and Rowling managed to maintain that throughout the novel. Yet again though, a Harry Potter film adaptation merely gives us a taste of those powerful emotions without embracing them.

Fans of the movies and books each have their favorite installments. However, I appreciated each book for what it brought. The first couple established a sense of wonder at this new world, then the plots grew thicker and they became pure exhilaration, and the last few saw any lingering innocence vanish as Harry's world went through its darkest hour.

I cannot say that I experienced the same arc of emotion with the films. I do not prefer any one of the movies over the other for they are all merely satisfactory without being truly fulfilling. The earlier films might have done the best job at imitating the magic of the books, but they lacked the more impressive technical characteristics in the more recent installments. As the beginning of the end is upon us, there remain very few threads between the films. Many small moments that would have established or enhanced particularly important themes are absent. The plot is obviously there, but consistency in techniques would have brought the movies closer to a single entity rather than 8 separate pieces of work.

Peter Jackson successfully accomplished this with "The Lord of the Rings," but Harry Potter does not have a single auteur like Jackson. The Lord of the Rings, while only three films long, flawlessly executes a highly emotional climax. Come July, when Harry Potter comes to its denouement, there will not be the same sense of heightened desperation as our characters struggle to defeat an evil juggernaut because this series has not done enough to earn it. There is no doubt Part 2 will pack an emotional punch, but it will not stand the test of time.

The 7th Harry Potter book holds a special place in my heart for the depth it takes us to. It's one of the most powerful coming of age tales put into writing. Objectives that seem so important in the first few books are deemed utterly insignificant by the last one. David Yates does many things right to help bring at least a portion of those emotions to the screen, but it's not enough to cover the ground that has been lost over the last 9 years.