Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 in Imax yesterday! I have to congratulate the director for finally sticking close to the book! I was glad that there were no big changes to the story, and the minor changes fit well and weren't awkward or weird at all.

One thing that disappointed me was how much sitting around there was. I know that most of the first half of the book was just sitting around and going from forest to forest, but I'd hoped that they would add more action in the movie. The action scenes were few and far between, and they were quite short and abrupt as well. Most of the movie focused on the emotional trauma and difficulties that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were going through. The only reason why I wasn't bored was that I knew what was going to happen next, so I could eagerly anticipate it.

I didn't like the casting for Yaxley at all (he was blond, I thought he should have had darker hair and a sharper face), the guy who played Mundungus Fletcher was weird and totally unexpected, but he still kind of worked. The casting for Bathilda Bagshot was spot on and even creepier than I imagined! The scene with her in Godric's Hollow was awesome.

Also, the scene where Dobby dies was so sad! I thought the dialogue in that part was absolutely perfect, especially what Dobby says right before he dies.

I thought that the decision to portray the Tale of the Three Brothers as a creepy animation was a great one - the animation definitely served its purpose and enhanced the story so much!

For those who have watched the movie, I also LOVED the scene with Hermione and Greyback, when she can see him and he can smell her perfume, but not see her due to the protective enchantments! Amazing!

One word of caution for people who are planning to see it - if you haven't read the books, then the movie is probably going to be confusing and/or boring (at least, that's what I think). The storyline can get complicated at times - before the movie, I was trying to explain the story to my dad and it took forever because I had to keep backtracking and explaining side stories of why this character would do this and how Horcruxes are different from Hallows, etc. I know that if I hadn't read the books, I would have had a tough time understanding what was going on. Especially since sometimes, with their British accents (as wonderful as they may be), the actors can be a bit hard to understand, and sometimes they swallowed the words at the end of their sentences.

Overall, though, HP7 Part 1 was a good, dark, and tense buildup to the last movie, which I can't wait to see!