I am not a Harry Potter fanatic, but I do like the franchise. But as I am not a fanatic, I think I can look at this movie with a little more emotional distance. The problem with this movie is not that it isn’t exciting or well acted, it’s just not a whole movie.

In the earlier Harry Potter movies, the author and the movie makers explore the world of Harry Potter. How the school works, how magic works, etc. That in and of itself isn’t a story, but it is interesting. Next, we explore the relationships between the characters. Harry’s eventual fate is mentioned, but most of the movie is about the relationships between the characters.

The problem with this movie is that its not really about the characters. We already got the idea that the Ministry of Magic was going to fall, so its no big revelation that the evil plot unfolds on a national level. Sure we get to see the details of that evil plot and the teachers and school battling it, but the whole thing feels a bit rushed in the beginning.

Then we get to Act 2, which really should be called Harry Potter Goes Camping. There’s a lot of tent scenes. Once in a while there are some scenes of putting together the various clues, but maybe I’m not enough of a fan to really get into it. It just seems like they are saying a bunch of gobbletygook. “Oh, now we need a sword and the sword does this and now we need a necklace and that’s important.” So what? It’s not even real when Ron gets pissed off at his friends. It’s a Lord-of-the-Rings moment with a magic item and he recovers so it doesn’t even count.

Honestly, I feel like this is the kind of movie that you can wait for unless you’re a Harry Potter fanatic. Wait for the whole DVD collection or even the last movie. I’m sure they’ll be a recap of some sort. Despite the many effects, this movie was kind of boring and I was nodding off. I’m sure you Harry Potter fans will see it anyway.

I give Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 four keggers out of ten. And this trailer is a bit misleading. All the cool stuff, the final confrontation, is really happening in the next movie. What I saw is all wind up. It was like seeing half a movie.