Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

When reviewing the last Harry Potter film I mentioned that it didn’t feel too different from the previous couple of films. Deathly Hallows doesn’t have that problem due to the majority of the action taking place away from Hogwarts, but this is now the seventh film and things are starting to feel a bit stale when they should be building towards the nerve wracking climax of the final film to come in the summer. I think the problem is that if you know the storyline already you’re not going to be surprised by what happens. If you’re not familiar with the outcome, you don’t really care. David Yates directs his third Potter film here and I think that’s part of the problem. Yates is a competent director but have things got too matey here? He certainly hasn’t pushed the main triumvirate acting wise, with Emma Watson being particularly wooden in this. Ironically, it's actually a short animated section in the middle of the film that is the stand out moment. Frankly, its fantastic. But when we get back to the film itself its back to the blandness. Story wise it’s too late at this juncture to re-cap the back catalogue of films, but in this one Potter (Daniel Radcliffe, looking like he can’t wait to start acting in something else) basically goes into hiding for most of the film, which includes an extremely flat middle section where the main characters stumble around in a forest bizarrely dressed like Pearl Jam circa 1991. There’s also the usual gumph about this being dark and scary. Not a chance. This actually has quite a few decent gags in it and we can also be thankful that the decision to release in 3D was reversed. So, one to go then. Let’s hope for a decent finale, otherwise you could arguably say out of eight Potter films there’s only one (Prisoner of Azkaban) that you could put on a pedestal as a classic of the genre.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Not sure how fans feel about this latest part, but below average direction from Yates and an overall tired feel to proceedings mean the franchise is stumbling over the line when it should be sprinting. Rating: 5/10.