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Alright I have to admit the title of this post is a little on the misleading side. Firstly this film is most definitely not fun or particularly enjoyable for the most part, I wouldn't go so far as to say it was "The Road" with wands but it was only a few house elf deaths away. And secondly the "friends" part isn't entirely true as it seems everything with a pulse and a wand wants nothing more than to beat 7 shades of wizarding shit out of Harry and then feed him his glasses.
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| Both were trying their hardest not to mention the dandruff |
So it's rapidly established in the opening seen in which a brutalized teacher is fed to a giant serpent by the pasty faced Lord Voldemort that this is by far the darkest Harry Potter film yet. However this being the darkest Potter adventure yet it manages to appeal to a wider and more mature age bracket subsequently satisfying a larger audience whilst managing to entertain pre-teens, but whilst Harry may never mainline heroine into his eye balls I wouldn't recommend this to your toddler. Deathly Hallows is also one of the best Potter films so far, now thats not setting the bar too high we all remember the steaming pile of goblin shit that was the previous film. Its director (David Yates) has improved massively from his previous magical endeavor, making for a visually compelling and at times genuinely breathtaking film, taking advantage of the army of helicopters at his disposal. The huge sweeping nature shots and gorgeous landscape filming is a geography teachers wet dream. The relationship between the three friends is also delicately developed and there personalities seem to stretch beyond their previously allotted stereotypes of no it all nerd, incompetent ginger funny man and that weird kid with glasses. Harry and Hermione's friendship is further developed in a brilliant, emotionally fragile dance sequence which is as touching as it is cringey. The group is also now more ridden with teenage angst than a particularly emotional episode of "One Tree Hill" and you'd need a magically enhanced chainsaw to cut the overwhelming sexual tension between Ron and Hermione. Despite the relationships of the foremost three protagonists being handled so effectively nearly the entire supporting cast of characters are either given an occasional token line or totally forgotten.
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| Garlic Bread had been a short sighted lunch choice |
The chemistry between Harry and Ginny is similar to that of two chairs stacked on top of each other and the acting for the most part remains monotonely(it's a word!) dreadful with various lines being delivered with all the emotion and charisma of a tiger woods apology conference. However despite the dismal acting on some parts others are still terrifyingly brilliant, for instance Ralph Fiennes remains spine chillingly frightening as "he who shall not be named" although I maintain he would be as creepy without the Michael Jackson treatment. Dobby is still perfectly realized and will as usual either have you wanting to give him a cuddle or reaching for something heavy to throw at the screen.
However even with the occasional fun filled appearance of Dobby and Voldemort and the brilliant location shooting the hugely unnecessary running time of over 2 and a half hours took its emotional toll. Especially as the story can drag on like a determined marathon runner who's legs have fallen asleep and in order to fully appreciate the vast quantity of Harry Potter in jokes you'd have to have acquired an either encyclopedic knowledge of everything Potter or have aggressively revised the last 6 books the night before.
Although despite feeling soul crushingly bored and confused in places, like a disoriented puppy with a short attention span, I had gotten my Harry Potter fix for the day and I'm looking forward to the final adventure of everyones favorite four eyed rascal.
6 out of 10 It's magic... sort of.
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