Do your “Harry Potter” homework before going to see “Deathly Hallows – Part I”

Jim Hill

14 years ago

Let me be blunt here. “Deathly Hallows – Part I” isn’t really a Harry Potter movie. At least not as we’ve come to know them.

To explain: In the latest installment of this blockbuster Warner Bros. film series, there’s no trip to Hogwarts and its continually-shifting staircases. The closest that we ever get to this School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is the Hogwarts Express. Which is stopped en route to the school by some Death Eaters who are searching for Harry, Ron and Hermione.

“And why are the Death Eaters after these three now?,” you ask. “Where exactly has this trio of student sorcerers gone?” To be honest, they spend most of this David Yates film living in a tent. As Harry, Ron and Hermione wander the English countryside in search for Horcruxes (i.e. those dark magical objects that ultimately hold the key to defeating Lord Voldemort).

Okay. I know. The above portion of this review makes “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part I” sound like something of a disappointment. Which it’s not. This David Yates film is actually a handsome, expertly put-together screen adaptation of the first half of J. K. Rowling‘s seventh “Harry Potter” book.

But here’s the thing: “Deathly Hallows” (the book) is 784 pages long. And it’s literally stuffed with expositional material that’s crucial to properly closing out the “Harry Potter” saga. Tying up those hundreds of loose ends that J.K. spun out as she was writing this epic fantasy saga.

So Yates (worked off of Steve Kloves‘ concise & cleverly crafted screenplay) does everything he can to make the mounds of exposition that you have to wade through here as easy to understand and/or as entertaining as they can possibly be. And he does this by peppering “Deathly Hallows – Part I” ‘s elaborate action sequences with these great little character moments.

But – again – this film only covers the first half of the storyline found in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” (the book). And while there are admittedly MILD SPOILERS AHEAD some thrilling set pieces (EX: the aerial ambush that occurs right after Harry is escorted out of Privet Drive, the trio infiltrating the Ministry of Magic as well as their thrilling escape from Malfoy Manor) as well as some genuinely heartfelt sections (EX: Hermoine using the Obliviate spell on her own parents, so that they’ll no longer be of any use to the Death Eaters. Not to mention what happens to poor Dobby), the really good stuff (i.e. the raid on Gringotts, the battle of Hogwarts as well as that somewhat controversial coda that Rowling tacked on to the end of “Deathly Hallows”) doesn’t come along ’til “Part II.”

So you know how your mother wouldn’t allow you to have any dessert until after you finished your dinner? Well, think of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1” as dinner. Because you really do have to make it through all of this broccoli-flavored exposition (which – to be fair – Yates & Kloves have made as tasty as broccoli has ever been) if you want to fully enjoy –more importantly, understand – what’s going on in “Part II” of “Deathly Hallows.”

Which brings me to my biggest concern about “Part I” : That there are people out there who still haven’t seen a “Harry Potter” movie and/or read any of J.K. Rowling’s books and are now going to think: “Well, there’s been an awful lot of fuss made about all this ‘Harry Potter’ stuff. So maybe I should go out and finally see one of these films.”

If that’s what you’re thinking of doing right now … Don’t. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part I” is NOT a great entry point for this film series. If you start off by watching this movie … Well, you’re not only going to wind up hopelessly confused, you’re also going to come away from the patently false impression that the “Harry Potter” saga is this extremely dark story which is loaded with violence and bickering. And that’s honestly not what this epic tale (which is loaded with great characters, clever storytelling, charm, grace, humor and heart) is really all about at all.

Tell you what: If you are genuinely a “Harry Potter” newbie, then hold off on seeing “Deathly Hallows – Part 1” ‘until after December 4^th & 5^th. That way, you can catch the next “Harry Potter” weekend on ABC Family. Which will be showing “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret,” “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” back-to-back on Saturday the 4^th. With an encore presentation of these four films being followed on Sunday the 5^th by an airing of the fifth movie in this series, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.”

And if you can familiarize yourself with those first five films over the course of ABC Family’s next “Harry Potter” weekend … Well, all you’ll need to do then to be completely caught up is to Netflix and/or Redbox a copy of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” And once you’ve done that, you’ve at least got half a chance of understanding what’s going on in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part I.”

Because at this past Monday night’s press screening, Nancy (who’s read some of the “Harry Potter” books but seen all of the movies to date) was definitely having trouble following some of the more obscure plot points in “Deathly Hallows – Part I.” In fact, it took the better part of the car ride home to New Hampshire (as well as much digging through the “Harry Potter” wiki the following day) before I was then able to answer all of her questions about what had actually gone on over the course of this movie.

Don’t get me wrong. Nancy thoroughly enjoyed “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part I.” But – to be honest — there is so much exposition coming at you so quickly in this new David Yates movie, that it’s sometimes hard to process all of this information. And that’s even if you’re like me and have seen all of the “Harry Potter” movies as well as read all of the books.

So go into “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part I” with the understanding that this is definitely one of those movies where you’ll walk away with some questions. Questions that (I hope) will be answered by the highly anticipated finale to this film series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part II.” Which doesn’t hit theaters ’til July 15, 2011 (Which – FYI – is the exact same day that Walt Disney Pictures is releasing “Winnie the Pooh.” Which makes me extremely nervous about how well Walt Disney Animation Studios‘ latest hand-drawn project is going to do at the box office in comparison to Potter ).

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