Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

So after going through a rather long dry spell of no movie theaters (last movie we saw was Despicable Me), we caved in and watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1) tonight. Going in, I had some mixed feelings as I wondered how this story wound wind down. Would it be satisfying? Or will it leave something to be desired?

Personally? Overall I do think it was money well spent and that this movie served it's purpose well. Still having not read any of the books, things mostly made sense to me and I am surprised with how human the movie feels this time around. The tone of the movie is definitely heavier then before and the deaths (while expected to a degree) just keep pushing the tension. It does a great job at building the stage for the second and final half of this adaptation of the book. I can't wait for the showdown between Potter and Voldemort (at last!).

What I don't really care for is that this was split in half, but that is understandable as I hear there is a great lot of things happening in this finale. But what really grinds my gears is the fact that Part 2 will not be released until July 2011 I believe. Now that is a long time to wait to conclude this whole thing!

Still, I left the theater feeling satisfied and so I think it is a safe bet to say that we will be returning next year to see this story to it's visual end.