Just got back from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, pt. 1. I never really cared for the movie adaptations, I never really got anything out of them that I didn't get out of the books, but I liked this one. Especially the first half. I loved the part with the break-in into the Ministry of Magic, the Nazi imagery and the priceless expressions of the actors who played the random goons they shapeshifted into.
One thing that disappointed me about both this and the last movie, was how little focus there was on the character of Dumbledore. It's been a while since I read the books and I don't remember them all that well, especially the last two which are the only ones I haven't reread ad nauseum, but I recall Dumbledore being especially important in the last two as he was portrayed in a very different light. The sixth book depicted him as much more incompetent than in the previous books, I recall finding this very distressing and in retrospect one of the most fascinating aspects of that overall very mediocre book. The final book further deconstructed this legendary genius and it made Harry seem that much more forsaken until everything fell into place towards the end. Maybe I'm missing something, maybe I'm remembering things wrong, but I find the movies lacking this. Well, there's still one more to go, maybe it will place more focus on Dumbledore.
