Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

The Warner Bros. Pictures logo is starting to rust, it seems. There it floats, high in the sky in the opening of every Harry Potter feature, positioned amongst the darkly shaded clouds, as it always has ever since John Williams' magical score was first heard back in 2001. Those clouds seem to get darker every year. But while the film company's symbol is visibly corroding before our naked eyes at the start of the newest installment, the Harry Potter series is about as rusty as a brand new Lamborghini.

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1” marks the beginning of the end of the British boy wizard's hazardous adventures. We've watched the "chosen one" grow up, go through hormones, battle a whole array of wicked villains, play wizard chess with his school pals (which can be more dangerous than it sounds), and now he's teetering upon the brink of adulthood -- with a stubble to boot.

Based on the first half of the seventh and final book of J.K. Rowling's beloved, best-selling series, “Deathly Hallows: Part 1” is the first to take place outside of Hogwarts. The ancient decor of the bewitching school's castle setting has been replaced with the busy streets of London and beautiful countryside landscapes. 'Tis a lovely change that enchants the film with an ambience of freshness.

Professor Dumbledore (Gosford Park's Michael Gambon) has been murdered. The already-corrupt Ministry of Magic has been taken over by the forces of evil. Lord Voldemort (In Bruges' Ralph Fiennes) is dead-set on killing Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and taking as much power as he possibly can.

With a fairly overwhelming sense of impending menace surrounding their every hesitant move, Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) are forced to go into hiding, cut off from everyone they know and love. Harry continues his mission to search for the world-scattered Horcruxes -- different parts of Voldemort's soul that need to be destroyed before he can finally be killed.

Taking to camping together in different locations for fear of being found by the vicious Death Eaters, the adolescent trio try to work out cryptic clues in the objects they have inherited from Dumbledore's will. Meanwhile, The Dark Lord is hot on the trail of "the boy who lived" and his two companions, with henchmen working off-the-clock to capture the bespectacled scar-face.

"These are dark times," says a long-haired Bill Nighy right at the movie's start-point, his eyes practically piercing through the screen. "There is no denying," he goes on. I don't see how anyone could deny that, Bill. Cos “Deathly Hallows: Part 1” is pretty friggin' dark.

At times as frightening as a nightmarish horror film, the two-and-a-half-hour long introduction to the long-awaited final send-off is the most adult and mature of the saga thus far. It flawlessly deals with raw, heart-wrenching emotion, exuberant thrills, and dimly toned eeriness, each handled with expert precision.

The mere presence of The Dark Lord's loyal followers casts a far-reaching shadow over the affairs of the troubled teens. Helena Bonham Carter returns as the deeply deranged, giggling witch known as Bellatrix Lestrange, cackling away as she tortures innocents. Scottish-born Peter Mullan is a newcomer to the series, playing Yaxley, a ponytailed doer of maliciousness who works within the refurbished Ministry of Magic, the current goings-on of which heavily allude to the actions of the Nazis in WWII -- see, this film's deep. And the serpent-faced, no-nosed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (that's Voldemort, by the way) is as devilish as ever, characterised as the loathsome epitome of everything that is evil in this world and others. He's a scary bugger.

It sounds so macabre, but things are not all so brutal. Director David Yates -- helmer of “Order of the Phoenix “and “The Half-Blood Prince” -- switches from daunting tones to more comedic sighs of relief, as it has always been in Rowling's books. The exploits of the now-skilled wand-wavers lead to some much-needed humour, both verbal and visual, witty and slapstick.

Ron and Hermione are no longer the one-note personalities they once embodied; they've got some emotional depth to them now. Yes, Little Miss Bookworm and, erm, Clumsy Ginger Boy have been jinxed out of their well-known pigeon-holes, thankfully given more complexity to their personalities. As they stay hidden in the forest-sitting tent along with BFF Harry, emotions run rampant and friendships begin to crack -- they've been turned into brooding, grumpy young adults, you see. Still, Hermione retains some know-it-all qualities, and Ron caters to the occasional gag with his jovial buffoonery.

And Harry, our eponymous teenage wizard, is again a fabulously compelling and identifiable leading character. He's been through a heck of a lot in his 17 years, his mind as scarred as the mark on his forehead. He's certainly grown a hefty amount throughout the series, Radcliffe's performances improving with each wide-scale release, and is determined to eradicate the barbaric ways of Voldemort and the ferocious Death Eaters. Good on him.

“Deathly Hallows: Part 1” is a visual pleasure, Yates blasting the penultimate entry with a feeling of cinematic epicness. The cinematography by Eduardo Serra is simply stunning, with a grim and gray palette painted over the film's jaw-dropping imagery, definitely worthy of an Oscar nomination (nudge, nudge).

The special effects are gorgeously detailed, if rather obviously CGI. Not to worry, the franchise has always been reliant on computer-drawn visuals, what with the otherworldly plot and spellbinding action sequences, and it doesn't disappoint here. From a giant snake to wrinkled house elves, flying broomsticks to sky-cruising motorbikes, the VFX team manage to impress in aiding in the film's dazzling spectacle. The beautifully gothic animation on a wonderful section explaining what the Deathly Hallows are is also a definite highlight.

Intense and thrilling, dark and sombre, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1” may just be the fantastic series' all-time best. Yates spectacularly intertwines scenes of heart-racing action with tender moments of profound emotion to make for a perfectly crafted, all-star magical adventure. July's your time to shine, Part 2. You've got a lot to live up to.

10/10