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Aww, Harry Potter is all grown up

By Staff | Nov 23, 2010

Grown up on screen to a now magical 17, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and his closest friends, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) face their most challenging wizardry assignment — stopping the dark forces of Voldemort from taking charge of the Ministry of Magic.

Simultaneously, the followers of Voldemort plan their strategies to kill Harry Potter before he is too strong for them to do so.

“The Deathly Hallows, Part One” has no time for idle family of origin thoughts or school scenes. No, Harry and friends are off on their adventures from the time light hits the screen. With assassins on the way, a group of his friends magically disguise themselves as Harry clones so the real Potter can evade Death Eaters.

Broadened in its appeal, adults can easily emphasize with the young heroes and heroines. As if they have the resources of James Bond or a “Mission Impossible” team, the “magical” actions replace the advanced “gadgets,” while a democracy versus dictatorial governments has a broader good versus evil tag much like Star War’s Dark Side concept.

Spirits and magic coming at ya furiously, “Deathly Hallows” thunders with action and suspense, not hindered by narrative set up of the other flicks in the series.

Unlike the “Twilight” vampire franchise, “Potter” contains hints of romance, but stands on a coy approach. Radcliffe takes a swim in his briefs to recover a sword and zips a dress up a bare back. Otherwise, hormones stay under control.

Oppressive sharp edged, dark architecture, dark vapors and a constant feel of urgency have you overlooking some of the more complex story consideration for unread novel-challenged watchers.

You miss some niceties, but follow the main dangers with pounding heart. As Potter and friends search for a treasure chest of objects, the land of magic morphs into a reincarnation of actions that resemble those of the Nazis or early Communistic realms for suspicions of non-loyalty become pretexts for zapping wizards and inhabitants off the streets for a date before an inquisitor.

Whisking to and from the land of magic and London, the effect of the transport has resemblance to those used in the early Irwin Allen “Time Tunnel” series. They are plopped into a new environment and must quickly adapt.

Imaginative settings startle, for instance, a bank of apparent elevators that perform more than vertical motion. Their paths often have traits of horizontal and vertical roller coasters.

Calling “Deathly Hallows” a best of the series occurs without any debate. The greatest “flaw” comes at the set up for Part Two, which occurs not through a mounting cliffhanger, but, simply a new more deadly obstacle for the young wizard.

Contact Tony at trutherford@graffitiwv.com