Movie Review: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One"

Synopsis: The war has begun! After the death of Hogwarts headmaster Professor Dumbledore, Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione are determined to destroy the Horcruxes; doing so will defeat the evil Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents when Harry was just an infant.  Haunted by dreams of the Dark Lord, Harry isn't sure where to start looking...until he learns of the three Deathly Hallows, one of which is the most powerful wand in existence.  Knowing that it's his only chance of defeating Voldemort, Harry and his friends seek it out.  However, Harry has been labeled "Undesirable No. 1" by a wizard newspaper, and plenty of other wizards and witches are hot on his trail.  Will he emerge victorious?
Based on the book by J.K. Rowling.

The Good: We're almost at the conclusion of this saga, and there are a lot of loose ends to be wrapped up; this movie does so in a big way.  The action sequences are spot-on, and all of the actors--especially the three young leads--do a fabulous job.  It's great to see Fleur and Tonks appear again, and the animated sequence of the fairy tale was a nice touch.

The Bad: Since this is only based on the first half of the last book, it feels like you only get half of a movie here; all this one does is set up the events of the next (and last) film.  The profanity count was a bit excessive, and some of the violence was a bit bloody.  My biggest complaint, though, was the scene with the Horcrux showing Harry and Ron passionately embracing, which is why the MPAA warned of "brief sensuality".  Parents of young children may be rather disturbed by that; it's easily the most sexual thing in the movies so far.

Conclusion: I read the last book not long after it came out; soon after, it was announced that it would be made into two films.  It made sense, given the plot; there was no subplot to cut out.  While this movie stayed fairly true to the book, people expecting a full adventure may be disappointed.  If you buy or rent this one, make sure you get the next one at the same time, as you'll be left awaiting to see what happens next.

Score: 4/5