Still, the filmmakers are to be applauded for not pandering to the few Potter virgins who may be in the audience, and for pushing the series ahead into unapologetically darker realms.Ī poignant prologue establishes the sacrifices Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) must make to protect their families under the new world order, as the now all-powerful Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes, cruelly exacting) plots Harry’s destruction. Tasked with finding and destroying the remaining Horcruxes (accursed objects containing fragments of Voldemort’s soul), the central trio must track elusive leads, decode arcane symbols and research unfamiliar names in the wizarding world, all rattled off so quickly at times that even those familiar with the text may be in need of a flow chart. Commercial benefits aside, there’s simply too much story to cover in one gulp, even with returning scribe Steve Kloves doing his usual judicious pruning of what is easily Rowling’s most unruly novel - a thrilling, overwrought epic that brings her intricate mythology to a messy but satisfying close.Īs a result, and perhaps through little fault of its own, Yates’ film at times seems to falter under the weight of its exposition. Long before this seventh film ends - with the death of a series regular and a chilling coup for the Dark Lord - it’s been made clear that there was no way to do justice to “Deathly Hallows” without dividing it in two. upswing shouldn’t continue, with auds likely to reserve their most enthusiastic attendance for “Part 2,” which will be released July 15 to no doubt even greater fanfare (and in 3D, to boot). Even without 3D ticket premiums for “Part 1,” there’s no reason the B.O. franchise last year’s “ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” was one of the series’ strongest performers, with $934 million worldwide.
While the seven-book saga has run its course (notwithstanding Rowling’s recent hint that she may revisit the Potter-verse at a later date), the global moviegoing audience has shown no signs of losing interest in the Warner Bros.