Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1

REVIEW:

Spoilers ahead.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 opens on such a sombre and dreadful note, immediately setting the tone for a war that is no longer on the horizon — it’s here. We see Harry watching the Dursleys leave Privet Drive, and Hermione casting Obliviate on her parents in one of the most quietly devastating moments of the entire series. These scenes underline the emotional toll ahead, and yet, I still wish they’d kept the deleted moment of Dudley walking back to Harry to shake his hand — finally offering him the respect he’s always deserved. That one moment would’ve brought full circle a relationship defined by cruelty and silence.

The movie does redeem itself with an adrenaline-pumped opening action sequence. When the Order attempts to move Harry, the skies erupt with chaos as Death Eaters attack in a mid-air battle that rivals any fantasy spectacle in the series. However, despite this cinematic brilliance, there’s a frustrating decision made here: a fan-favourite character is killed off-screen, robbing us of a moment that deserved to land with emotional weight rather than be treated as an afterthought. This is a pattern that continues throughout — dramatic set-ups with underwhelming follow-throughs.

One noticeable shift is that this is the first Harry Potter movie not primarily set at Hogwarts, and while that’s thematically appropriate for where the story is headed, it’s also where the pacing struggles begin. The constant moving around, the lack of familiar structure, and the endless scenes of the trio bickering in the woods strip the film of the energy we’ve come to associate with the franchise. At times, it feels like we’re stuck in a broken GPS loop: lost, directionless, and desperate for someone to just say, “Turn left to the nearest Horcrux.”

And let’s talk about that title. The Deathly Hallows are the core concept, right? So why does it take 1 hour and 23 minutes before they’re even mentioned, and another ten minutes before they’re actually explained? It’s as though the film itself doesn’t know what it’s trying to be — Horcrux hunt or Hallow hunt? Worse still, they only retrieve one Horcrux the entire movie. For a near two-and-a-half-hour runtime, that’s hardly an achievement. Truthfully, this film could’ve been condensed into the first hour of a single, tighter, more urgent narrative.

Still, credit where it’s due: the production design remains top-tier. The Ministry of Magic set, with its brutalist oppression and ominous atmosphere, is visually stunning. The tone of this sequence blends paranoia and dystopia effortlessly — it’s one of the few segments that justify the runtime. And while we’re on standouts, Jason Isaacs deserves praise for his portrayal of Lucius Malfoy. Once arrogant and elegant, he now trembles in Voldemort’s presence, a broken man stripped of his power. His performance is subtle yet haunting.

But for every high, there’s a low. The unexplained shard of the mirror — something Harry keeps fixating on without us knowing why — is baffling. If you’re not reading the books, you’re just expected to accept its significance blindly. A single line of dialogue would have solved that issue. Instead, we’re left confused by its sudden importance and Harry’s inexplicable trust in it. It’s one of several threads left dangling, which becomes all the more frustrating given how long we spend… well, not doing much at all.

That said, the scene where the snatchers chase the trio through the forest is a triumph in visual storytelling. There’s no score, just footsteps pounding through leaves, spells whipping past, and the heavy breath of panic. It’s raw and gripping — the kind of grounded intensity this film needed more of. And the final 15 minutes, when Dobby’s fate is sealed, bring the emotion flooding back. It’s a devastating gut punch that actually earns its moment, setting the stage for the war to come.

In the end, Deathly Hallows: Part 1 feels like a missed opportunity. I genuinely enjoyed the first and final 30 minutes, but the middle hour is bloated with filler, meandering through angst and arguments. If ever there was a film that didn’t need to exist as its own standalone entry, it’s this one. A tighter script and bolder direction could have easily merged this with Part 2, giving us a complete, thrilling finale. Instead, we got Harry Potter and The Terrible Camping Trip — and it overstays its welcome.