15 Years Later, This Harry Potter Movie is Still Underrated
While most people remember the action-packed second part, there's so much to appreciate in the slow and quiet first part of the epic Harry Potter finale.
We are at the 15th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, and it still feels to me like people really underappreciated that movie and call it “weak” and “bad”. Yes, this is a slower film, and focuses on the characters more than any other Harry Potter film, and that’s what makes it great. It’s a dark thriller that shows how war really affects every person, even if you’re not a soldier on the battlefield.
The movie follows Harry, Ron and Hermione in their journey to seek and destroy Voldemort’s Horcruxes. At the end of the day, they are not heroes. They are just three teenagers whose best achievement is the fact that they’re still alive. You can see it in the touching scene between Harry and Hermione after Ron leaves. They’re starting to dance just to feel normal for a few minutes.
I really believe that this movie works thanks to one person – director David Yates. He crafted a dark and creepy political thriller, which shows the power of tyrants and propaganda. After all, he had a background in these kinds of stories. The entire cast is at its finest in this movie, especially when it comes to the dynamic of Harry, Ron and Hermione. The action sequences are well directed, especially that fantastic chase in the woods, it feels like a documentary, not a blockbuster, and that’s why it’s so unique. In fact, director David Yates called this movie “a road movie” that feels almost like a vérité documentary. The cinematography is stunning and depressing, and really captures the dark mood of the entire movie (and the wizarding world).
This is the first movie which is set outside of Hogwarts, and it was shot in lots of real locations, and that’s the main reason why it feels so real. Above all, the hopeless feeling of this movie is addictive. During the second act, the trio walks around apocalyptic landscapes in England while listening to the missing people on the radio – this is so powerful. Despite the depressing feeling, the movie has lots of cool moments: A cool attack on a cafe shop that turns the movie into a gangster thriller, a heist sequence inside the Ministry of Magic, and above all, a fantastic animation sequence about the story of the Deathly Hallows. Oh, and the composer is the Oscar-winner Alexander Desplat – what a triumph!
The movie received solid reviews (77% on Rotten Tomatoes, the lowest in the franchise actually, because of the split), and grossed 960 million dollars, making it the 5th highest grossing movie of 2010. No matter what, this was the beginning of the “Finale-split” craze that took over Hollywood - from Twilight and The Hunger Games, to Avengers. Another reason why I love this movie is how it sets up the finale so well. In fact, you can watch both parts back-to-back and they actually feel like a 4-and-a-half-hour epic movie.
It’s time to re-evaluate this movie. This is one of the most unquiet blockbusters in the last 20 years. It’s slow, it’s dark, it’s depressing, but it’s also beautiful, stunning, and creative. That movie (and its predecessor, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) had led me to believe that David Yates’ should direct a DC movie, maybe even a Batman movie. Imagine a combination of David Yates realistic direction along with Bruno Delbonnel’s artistic cinematography would be gold.