I have to admit that I was really looking forward to this particular Harry Potter film, well the first part of it anyway because in my opinion "Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows" was the best book of the series. Now granted I didn't read all the books and I'll be the first to say that I am not a fan of Rowlings writing but I did catch all the movies (for the most part). This film wasn't my favorite out of the series, that dubious distinction goes to "The Prisoner of Azkuban" because I felt that was the most creative of all the films but when watching "Hallows", everything I remembered from the book was right up there on the screen and that made this movie the best representation of a book to film adaption since The Lord of the Ring movies.The one thing I did like about the Potter movies is that they weren't all helmed by the same director. The first two were directed by Christopher Columbus and my fave was directed by Alfonso Cauron and that gave each film its own look, feel, and flavor. However that last few films have been helmed by David Yates and while he's done an admirable job, "Hallows" may be his best work. That also goes for the acting of Daniel Radcliff, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. The child actors have finally come into their own and it seems have finally grasped the concept that their performances will last forever. That to the fans of the books their representation of the characters they love truly matters. And that was brought to vivid life during the death of a beloved character.
The previous Potter film and this one pretty much had no change in the staff behind the camera except one huge one. The last two movies were scored by the lesser known Nicholas Hooper and he's done a pretty good job in scoring the movies. It's never an easy task following in the footsteps of the great John Williams but Nicholas did well. This time around however the producers brought in a real heavy hitter to close out the series musically, Alexandre Desplat. It was a very good choice. The movie is dark and dramatic and the music by Desplat fit perfectly. His sound has a darker, heavier feel than anything Hooper has done in the series and since these last two films deals with a war pitting good against evil they needed an artist that could convey that musically and since John and Hans were busy, Alexandre fit the bill and came through brilliantly.
I am really looking forward to part two and seeing how Yates and company pulls this all together. Here's hoping it brings unbridled joy and not disappointment to those lifelong fans around the world. See you at the theater!
