Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

I don't know if this is a fantasy tribute to Satantango, but the fact is that, if all the shots were thrown out where the characters were mindlessly stumbling or looking soulfully into nothingness, there would be about 30 minutes of film left and I would have a hard time defending its purpose. The entire Harry Potter series has since become an unbearably stretched and non-inventive spectacle on the silver screen, which includes purposeful piling of meaningless branches and the creation of soap opera odor. Yet even in terms of character rendering, it is poor and dead tired, without sparkle and anything that would keep a person’s attention who does not look at it as an overpriced illustration of a book. Utterly useless, boring, and I dare say even a stupid half-part. (11/07/2011)

I feel like this doesn't have much to do with good old Harry Potter anymore. It's all a bit too dark and the Hogwarts atmosphere is sorely lacking. I still respect Harry as a fan though. I'm just of the opinion that a "new" viewer won't be impressed by this installment (at least the first part). At times I feel like I'm watching a Canadian thriller. I give it 4 stars, but on a completely different scale than the previous installments. But I'm looking forward to Part 2 anyway. (13/05/2011)

The weakest Harry Potter instalment split into two parts? Oh dear, we're raking in the dough, we're raking in the dough. And unfortunately it phoned it in – the first part is boring. A fairy tale with thriller elements and coincidentally uncovered graves. It's sad, but as a fan, I'm disappointed. The music, the actors, the effects – nothing new, lackluster and drawn out. A brick on you. The second part might finally make you cry; so far it's been nothing but smirking. I had fun making fun of it. Otherwise, I was yawning. Sorry, Harry, you were acting like Frodo, and I won't forgive you for that. A weaker 3 stars. (03/12/2010)

The first half of the great Potter finale is unexpectedly quiet and conversational, but it certainly doesn't hurt, because it is without exception superbly acted. The establishing part, which makes you realize how far not only the characters, but also their representatives have come since 2001, is probably the best of all. The tension is almost palpable for the whole 140 minutes, the gloomy atmosphere as well, but the screenwriter and director still know when they can afford something to lighten things up and the viewer doesn't get bored. The action start was top notch, while the ending with Bellatrix and Dobby is one of the most impressive moments of the whole series. And Alexandre Desplat got to compose the music, which was a safe bet. (11/09/2015)

I saw the first four Harry Potter films and stopped there, as I’m not a fan of the series. I went to see Deathly Hollows: Part I only because of its attractive billboards. And I was bored to death. The beginning of the series introduced us to the characters and the story’s lovely environment and, in the case of Alfonso Cuarón’s contribution to the series, brought us a unique, wonderfully dark film adventure that showed a lot of inventiveness on the director’s part. The films had their own stories and always took the audience somewhere. In comparison to them, Deathly Hollows: Part I is only a protracted masturbatory porridge, slavishly and without any creative input following the original book, the qualities of which I don’t know, but if they’re anything like this film, I’ll gladly pass. (18/11/2010)