Harry Potter & The Deathly Harrows: Part 1 – The End is Near

Will the millions of devoted Harry Potter fans enjoy this film as much as they’ve enjoyed the others? Some will, for sure, but many others will think it’s much, much too long, that it could have been cut in half and that it drags on like a death march, making its reluctant way to the final, tedious, 143rd minute.

Harry Potter, now aged 16, narrowly avoids capture by Voldemort, who has control over the Ministry of Magic and Hogwards. To destabilize Voldemort’s powerful position, Harry, Hermione and Ron set out to find three missing horcruxes, from which Voldemort derives his strength.

harry potter

Although this is a film about magic, there is little enchantment to be found. The title, The Deathly Harrows, is not mentioned until over half way through, when we are read a story about three brothers who all tried to defeat death. This is a dark parable, and this is indeed a dark film, crammed with reams of expositional dialogue and lots of special effects that seem to act as fillers. Time often stands still, with the three chums living in tents, hanging out, chatting, having tantrums, and generally doing the same as mortals, which isn’t the supernatural experience we expect from the world of J.K.

There are, of course, lots of wands around the place which get Harry and co. out of so many scrapes it becomes tedious and this is lazy writing. Also, these wands achieve some complete miracles, so it doesn’t make sense that, when the three get captured and imprisoned by some thugs who don’t have a wand between them, no one so much as waves a finger. Up until this point Hermione, in particular, has been exceptionally active casting spells, beaming everyone off to deserts and heaven knows where else, but a few metal bars seem to render her powerless. What’s the point of being a wizard if you can’t even get out of jail free?

After 10 years, the producers are faced with the end of this financially phenomenal franchise. Their decision to stretch Deathly Harrow into two elongated parts is, they claim, an artistic one, in which case, why don’t they let everyone in to see Part 2 with their Part 1 ticket? Not as a gesture to all the loyal fans who have been shelling out all these years, but because it’s possibly the only way they’re going to be able to fill all those empty seats.

RELEASE DATES

Austria – 17 November 2010

Belgium – 17 November 2010

Egypt – 17 November 2010

Finland – 17 November 2010

Germany – 17 November 2010

Netherlands – 17 November 2010

Singapore – 17 November 2010

Slovakia – 17 November 2010

Sweden – 17 November 2010

Turkey – 17 November 2010

Argentina – 18 November 2010

Australia – 18 November 2010

Colombia – 18 November 2010

Croatia – 18 November 2010

Czech Republic – 18 November 2010

Denmark – 18 November 2010

Greece – 18 November 2010

Indonesia – 18 November 2010

Kazakhstan – 18 November 2010

Malaysia – 18 November 2010

New Zealand – 18 November 2010

Peru – 18 November 2010

Philippines – 18 November 2010

Portugal – 18 November 2010

Puerto Rico – 18 November 2010

Russia – 18 November 2010

Slovenia – 18 November 2010

Switzerland – 18 November 2010 (German speaking region)

Ukraine – 18 November 2010

United Arab Emirates – 18 November 2010

Brazil – 19 November 2010

Bulgaria – 19 November 2010

Canada – 19 November 2010

Estonia – 19 November 2010

Iceland – 19 November 2010

India – 19 November 2010

Italy – 19 November 2010

Japan – 19 November 2010

Latvia – 19 November 2010

Lithuania – 19 November 2010

Mexico – 19 November 2010

Norway – 19 November 2010

Poland – 19 November 2010

Spain – 19 November 2010

Taiwan – 19 November 2010

UK – 19 November 2010

USA – 19 November 2010

Serbia – 21 November 2010 (Sava Centar)

France – 24 November 2010

Switzerland – 24 November 2010 (French speaking region)

Hungary – 25 November 2010

South Africa – 26 November 2010

Hong Kong – 16 December 2010

South Korea – 16 December 2010