Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 1

I have been a big fan of the "Harry Potter" series ever since it came out.  Whenever a new book was released I'd get my hands on it immediately and finished most of them within a few days.  Over the course of the franchise the books got longer and darker as the content matured with the characters.  One of my problems with the movies of the later books, as is my problem with most movies based on books, is that the content got  cut short.  There is only so much of the story you can tell in the 2 - 2 1/2 hour time frame of a movie.  This, of course, is an inevitable outcome, movies are 2-2 1/2 hours for a reason, most people can't sit through something much longer than that.

I remember being excited for the final fight scene between Dumbledore and Voldermort that was described in so much detail at the end of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."  In the movie, a scene that took up an entire chapter in the book, lasted for what seemed about 30 seconds (maybe it was longer than that but my perception is biased due to the huge let down I felt).  I remember thinking to myself "this is why I books are always better than the movie."   It's not that I didn't enjoy the movie, it's just that I wanted to see more of the story line than was presented.

The last book is by far the longest in the series and there's a lot that happens.  If it hadn't been cut into two movies the franchise would have suffered greatly.  So, when I heard that "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows" was going to be divided into two films I was pleasantly surprised.

The first installment of the 2 part conclusion to the Harry Potter series premiered Monday, November 16th, in New York City.  The second installment is due to come out in Summer of 2011.  The film opens Friday, November 19th in U.S theaters and marks the beginning of the end in the popular series.

The movies so far have been very entertaining, even with the content cut short, and my only qualm with splitting up the two movies is that they are being released 6 months apart.  I'm sure I'll leave the theater entertained but I can also picture myself walking out pulling my hair and screaming "I gotta wait another 6 months to see the next one!?!?!"  The wait will be worth it though if the creators stay true to the story line of the books.

John Bobst aka The Force of Nature

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