YAB Review: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Ed. Note: This report from the midnight screening of “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows” comes slightly overdue, but on the heels of a very successful Thanksgiving weekend at the box office, the insights on a magical draw over Gen  Y remain just as relevant. I’ll let Youth Advisory Board member and longtime Harry Potter fan Anita Tyndall take it from here..

YAB Review: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1

What was the biggest draw for you going into this movie?

I’ve been a fan of Harry Potter ever since I read the first book back when I was 11 (I always fancied myself a bit like Hermione). As I got older and the next books came out, my friends and I would dress up in our robes and head out to the local bookstore for the midnight book release party.

Since then, I’ve reread the books, but all that’s had to keep me going in the Harry Potter-verse is those bloody movies. So, being the geek that I am, when my friend invited me to go to the midnight showing of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” I eagerly accepted.

My friend’s parents own a costume shop, so we went decked out in robes and other attire. I felt a little silly, I’ll admit, but when we got there at least half the crowd—if not more—was fully dressed in Harry Potter attire, some even more than we were. I counted at least two golden “snitches” amidst all of the robes and hats as well.

What was it like to watch with so many other die-hard fans?

The theater was incredibly packed, with a good mix of ages. Most of the crowd was made up of teenagers and young adults, though there were a few older people in the crowd as well. Even waiting outside in the lobby, there was a feeling of excitement and anticipation in the air.

Everyone had settled into their seats about 30 minutes before the movie began, chatting casually with their neighbors about how excited they were and how they hoped that the movie would live up to their expectations. When the movie finally started, though, there was dead silence in the theater—everyone was glued to the movie, and when the Warner Bros. logo appeared and that infamous theme music started playing, you could head a sigh of happiness resonate throughout the theater.

Did it live it up to your high expectations?

The movie definitely lived up to my expectations, drawing me in a lot better than the sixth movie, which I felt fell a little flat in terms of action. This wasn’t so with Deathly Hallows—while not each moment was packed with action, there were enough scenes to keep you engrossed. Those scenes that weren’t action-packed were filled with tension and snappy dialogue, showing the relationships between the three main characters, Harry, Ron and Hermione.

Watching this movie with so many fans was in many ways like watching it with a big family—the entire audience had the same reactions to so many scenes. We laughed, cried, and gasped at the same parts, and when the movie was over, there was a collective groan of disappointment. My generation in particular has grown up with these movies, so we feel attached to these characters—we’ve grown as they’ve grown, and the whole attitude throughout the movie was definitely a feeling not only of excitement, but also of nostalgia.

How do you feel about the next film?

I can’t wait to go back for part two.

Nita Tyndall

Nita is a junior from North Carolina. She hates writing about herself, especially in third person. She enjoys playing the piano (everything from Rachamaninoff to Sara Bareilles), writing, drinking tea, sign language, and reading books. She’s slightly obsessed with Sylvia Plath and psychology. When she’s not planning world domination, she writes novels that she hopes will be published someday.