Bill Nighy/Rhys Ifans
I am not going to be a part of the Deathly Hallows craze. Part 1 was good, don’t get me wrong, and definitely one of the better ones, but it was not great.
There are several problems with the seventh outing. The major one is the pace of the film. The film kept maybe too close to the book in the way that they left it slow. The beginning and the ending are faster and much more upbeat; however the middle could have been picked up much more. The suspense of the middle lacked, and the urgency, moved forward sluggishly. The beginning moved fast and tried to get them on the road really quickly, and then the makers took their time once on it and didn’t continue the pace.
Other problems dealt with an unmentionable scene that occurred close to the end (those who have seen the movie may be aware of what I am talking about). Also, we do not get much of a chance to mourn for the dead as much as we do for a certain character at the end of the movie. Certain characters die, and it is pushed aside to further move the story. Another major problem is the final scene. It came too quickly, without much warning, and ended just as quickly. And the genious of an actor, Bill Nighy, gave a forgettable performance and a rather weird opening speech. People who haven't read the books would feel "Who is this guy? Why do we care about him?" The beginning moved too fast and we saw very little of the characters that are introduced. We do not know what is really going on because there is too much going on.
The movie wasn’t all bad. There were good things: the music was good (still not as good as John William’s scores), the scenery shots were marvelous, and the expository scenes didn’t feel out of place. And like all six films before it, the best thing about the movie was the acting. This series has become the epitome of ace acting. Daniel Radcliff, who I have not cared much for before this film, finally matches up to Emma Watson and Rupert Grint (who both have always been as good as their adult co-stars). But who really shines in this movie is Rupert. This man has grown so much as an actor. I predict that he will be among the greats of my generation. He will go on and do amazing things with his acting career.
One other plus was Dobby. One of the few characters that I have never really cared for (both in the books and the films), Dobby really does look good in Deathly Hallows. He never looked or sounded like I quite envisioned him from the books (and Kreacher), but they did a better job that they did with the past movies.
All in all, it is a good new film. It may have problems, but it has improved the story and characters. The main problem is that it is fast where it should be slower, and slow where it should be fast.
Jk Rowlings has been doing this on purpose to get people to read her books. The books and the movies go hand in hand.
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