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Created Jul 06, 2011 02:52PM PST • Edited Jul 06, 2011 02:52PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Very Good 3.5

   Harry Potter began his journey at Hogwarts six years before this movie begins and things aren’t getting any easier. Nor are the movies getting any more exciting. In my personal opinion, the Harry Potter series hit a plateau after the fourth film. After that, the films weren’t bad, but they didn’t have the spark that they once did.

   Magic is very much still in the air in this first half of the last installment. But I’m not sure if splitting it into two parts was a marketing ploy, or an attempt to salvage the details of the final novel. Sadly, I think the weight is heavy on the first reason. The book is only the third longest of the seven and could probably have conveyed what was necessary with one 2.5 hour film.

   This entry in the series is much farther-fetched circumstantially than its predecessors; magic is spilling into the muggle world but no one seems to notice. Think what would happen if The Lord of the Rings characters time traveled to present day without much consequence. Yeah. But Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 is a truly enchanting film, despite its inconsistencies and maintains the magical feel of the previous films.

4. Acting

   Very Good 3.5

   Daniel Radcliffe as well as everyone else (with the exception of the dead characters) returns to reprise their roles as Harry’s friends and enemies.

5. Male Stars Very Good 3.5

6. Female Stars Very Good 3.5

7. Female Costars Very Good 3.5

8. Male Costars Very Good 3.5

10. Film

    Very Good 3.5

    Director David Yates picked up the work after the fourth film and did a pretty good job capturing the books’ grace on the big screen. All the spells are intact and all the characters just as likable as ever.

    This film defines “abrupt ending.” The difficult thing about splitting a novel into two films is deciding where to draw the dividing line. David Yates didn’t know, clearly and sort of laid the boundary between two random scenes and then added an ominous cliffhanger involving Voldemort.

    The visual effects were brilliant along with the stirring musical score. The colors and camerawork as curses whiz by the Harry’s head make for a harrowing journey for both the characters and the viewer. While the latest may not live up to the first, it still provides good entertainment and does not disappoint.

11. Direction Very Good 3.5

12. Play Good 3.0

13. Music Really Great 4.5

14. Visuals Really Great 4.5
15. Content

16. Edge

    Tame 1.5

    Despite the PG-13 rating, this is an excellent family film.

17. Sex Innocent 1.5

18. Violence Fierce 2.0

19. Rudeness Polite 1.0

21. Reality

    Fantasy 5.0

22. Circumstantial Fantasy 5.0

23. Biological Fantasy 5.0

24. Physical Fantasy 5.0