This will be a fairly short review, as my reviews of things go.

I can only assume the vast majority of you Dragons and Dragonettes have, at minimum, read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in its entirety, and/or that you’ve seen the movie as well. I say this because there are a few spoilers in what follows (though only about the content of the movie, and not what is coming in the second part). Avert your eyes now if you’d rather remain in suspense.

Those of you who follow my Twitter timeline probably saw this message pop in at some point, which encapsulated my basic impressions of the movie in 140 characters or less:

#HP7: good movie, great chases & performances…but they left a lot of material to cover in the last movie.

On Facebook’s copy of this Tweet, Joe “Origin Museum” Garrity commented thusly:

Best of the movie series, IMO. They had the time to really follow the book…and most of the scenes were *exactly* as I had pictured them!

I mostly agree, though with one caveat (at least).

Joe is right that the film adaptation is quite faithful to the source material, and it does will at capturing almost each and every scene and sequence from the text. The problem is that it only leaves itself time to show us each sequence in turn; it doesn’t leave itself time to offer any kind of further explanation of what’s going on. What is “splinching”, for example? We see its effects (and may I just say that the wounds on Ron’s arm were cringe-inducingly well-done?), but…what is it? Why could Dobby apparate into the Malfoy mansion when others couldn’t disapparate out of it? What was the significance of the eyeball on the door of Umbrage’s office (yes, I know what it was, but people unfamiliar with the book might not have caught it)?

It was a great movie for someone who had already read the book…phenomenal even, and meticulously faithful to the source text. For someone who hadn’t already read the source text, though…it was probably entertaining, but it left a lot of what it was showing largely unexplained.

My one major issue with the film was actually the Ministry. Granted, even in the book, the Ministry’s sudden turn toward fascism was not particularly subtle…but the movie robbed it even of what little subtlety it had. Which is kind of a shame, because there were some themes that Rowling drew upon, which echoed the Weimar Republic and its slide into repression and statism, that I absolutely loved in the book. The only nod these got in the movie were in the brief speech given by the Voldemort-controlled Minister for Magic who was appointed midway through the film.

Other than that…as one who has read the source text, I greatly enjoyed the movie.

Yes, I think they really left themselves a lot — maybe too much — to cover in the finale, but what they did cover in this one was covered excellently. I was surprised at how much grittier and more adult this movie was, in some respects…especially in the scene (which I mentioned before) where Ron did get splinched. The wounds on his arm were…okay, I didn’t even wince like at at Saving Private Ryan’s gore. The scene where Ron was — in his temptation by the Horcrux — witnessing the illusion of Hermione and Harry making out was also surprisingly risqué, and a bit more erotic than one would have thought the series would have opted to portray.

Not that I think these elements should have been removed…they were excellent portrayals of their respective situations, and they worked phenomenally. The series has been getting progressively more adult since its first entry…but the jump between this episode and the previous one is a bit more of a quantum shift than I was expecting. It surprised me, and I applaud it for doing so.

There were some great performances, and a good balance between touching and truly harrowing scenes…some a bit too brief, some just right. And I loved the animated sequence that accompanied the story of the Three Brothers. Phenomenal!

Now, of course, I have to sit here quivering with anticipation until mid-2011. Thankfully, Voyage of the Dawn Treader is coming out between then and now, so at least I’ll be able to boost my fantasy fix a dosage whilst I wait. But will it be a sufficient fix, or will I be in withdrawal by February?

Small update: Steve Greydanus comments a bit more on the movie showing almost everything but explaining very little. He isn’t a big fan of the film, whereas I rather am, but this observation in particular illustrates what I’m getting at, above:

I do follow that things are really bad as Deathly Hallows: Part 1 opens. Dumbledore is dead, Voldemort and the Death Eaters control the Ministry of Magic, and they’re gunning for Harry, whose friends in the Order of the Phoenix have their hands full protecting him.

So far, so good. But almost the first scene in the movie depicts Hermione tearfully zapping her parents from behind with an obliviating spell, wiping all memory and evidence of her from their minds and lives as she, Harry and Ron prepare to go underground. I suppose this was to protect them; I don’t think the movie explains.

Robbing parents of parenthood? Did anyone realize how horrific this is? Are we meant to accept this without even an on-screen rationale?

That’s basically what I’m getting at. The scene in question is marvelously well-done, and tearfully acted by Ms. Watson. I’ve read the book: I know what Hermione is doing in that scene. And yes, the average viewer who hasn’t read the book can (as Greydanus does) probably infer what she’s up to. But it’d be nice if the movie paused to explain it at some point, even in a couple lines of throwaway dialogue later on in the show. Because it really is quite a shattering, tragic thing that Hermione is doing…it deserves at least some basic exposition, no?

Moar updayte: Steve Salier chips in his $0.02 and succinctly describes what this first Deathly Hallows movie intends:

Deathly Hallows: Part 1 consists of almost nothing but “cohesive narrative and long-term significance.” Nor does the movie provide instant gratification. It exists merely to set up Deathly Hallows: Part 2 — the finale film coming next July 15 — by driving the good guys to the edge of despair. Part 1 is not only complex, it’s uncompromisingly aimed solely at readers of the book. With 44 million copies of Deathly Hallows in print, that’s more than enough moviegoers.

It really is true. The movie banks on the audience having read the book…and in fairness, that’s not exactly an unreasonable expectation on its part.

Salier also captures, I think, the thing that makes the movie such an oddity: it offers next to no gratification to its audience. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it is an unusual thing to encounter in entertainment these days. Still, it’s true: the movie opens all the windows and doors of the plot, and closes none of them afterward…it leaves everything hanging.

And we shall all have to wait until the summer to get any resolution, any closure.