Off to see the wizard

IT’S DIFFICULT to know how to review Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (US/12A/146 mins).

Do you evaluate it in terms of how faithful it is to JK Rowling’s final offering in the Harry Potter series, the basis on which the Potter fans will judge it? Or do you judge it according to the criteria that applies to every other film?

The very fact that The Deathly Hallows has been split into two parts suggests that Rowling’s fans will be very happy with David Yates’ latest Potter offering (Yates has already directed The Order of the Phoenix and The Half-Blood Prince), given that the 146-minute running time gives the story plenty of time to breathe.

Yates and long-time Potter screenwriter Ivan Kloves construct an excellent opening sequence, which finds Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) in dire peril as the dark lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) grows ever more powerful. The sense of threat and evil is almost palpable as many of Harry’s friends and supporters gather to help him escape Voldemort’s clutches, and the action sequence that follows is a white-knuckle ride. Dismayed by the casualties that accrue, Harry declares that he will no longer accept people sacrificing their lives on his behalf, and decides to strike out on his own to find the Horcruxes that will defeat Voldemort. Naturally, Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) refuse to allow Harry to go alone, and so the trio embark on an epic journey.

So far, so promising, and fans of the novel may well be equally delighted with what follows, as Harry, Hermione and Ron spend the next 100 minutes skulking in tents at a variety of locations, all the while bickering among themselves. Those who haven’t read the novel, however, and who haven’t read the previous Harry Potter books, might find this section rather tedious.

The filmmakers, aware that a large chunk of its potential audience won’t be alive to the nuances, toss in whole chunks of exposition masquerading as dialogue, most of which tends to start with Hermione or Ron saying something along the lines of, “But Harry, don’t you remember how in The Chamber of Secrets you defeated Raginor the Hirsute with the Enchanted Lyre of Pyrrmidia?”

The trio do take a trip to the Ministry of Magic to shake things up a little, where they adopt different physical personas and lighten the mood with some in-joke comedy, but for the most part the film looks like a public service broadcast on the dangers of going camping without adult supervision.

The last half-hour cranks up the tension again, once the dark powers return to centre stage, although Helena Bonham Carter’s unintentionally hilarious performance as Bellatrix Lestrange leaches away any real sense of threat.

The fact that the film has a Part 1 in its title doesn’t help either, as even the most callow cinema-goer will be aware that none of the main characters, good or evil, are in danger of not making it through to Part 2.

All told, The Deathly Hallows will very probably be a hit with Harry Potter fans for sticking so close to the events depicted in the first half of the novel. Movie fans who like their fantasy epics to deliver a bit more bang for their buck, on the other hand, may come away feeling cheated.

THOSE disappointed by Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows needn’t fret too much. Christmas, with its usual slew of big-budget extravaganzas, is just around the corner. Indeed, the third instalment of The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, hits the screens on December 9, when Lucy, Edmund and their cousin Eustace travel to Narnia to accompany King Caspian on his epic quest to find the seven lost lords of Narnia.

The belated sequel to the seminal sci-fi classic Tron (1982), Tron: Legacy is released on December 17, and centres on an investigation into Kevin Flynn’s (Jeff Bridges) disappearance, which sees his son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) sucked into an artificial world of computer programmes.

Meet the Parents: Little Fockers is released on December 22 and sees Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller at loggerheads yet again. Also released on December 22, and offering more classic fare, is Rob Lemuel’s version of Gulliver’s Travels, which stars Jack Black in the lead role.

Finally, it’s a glamorous end to the year when The Tourist is released on December 31. Frank (Johnny Depp) travels to Italy to mend a broken heart, but he reckons without Elise (Angelina Jolie), a woman determined to catch Frank’s eye. Depp and Jolie sharing a screen? Our advice is to bring your own fire extinguisher, lest all that smouldering gets out of control.