General Release 19th Nov

This is the end…OK not quite there’s still another film to go, but this is certainly the beginning of the end to the saga of the bespectacled necromancer and the film-makers have clearly gone to town to give him a spectacular send off.

The series has darkened in tone with each film but this one is particularly bleak with death hanging like a pall over proceedings. To help things along the special effects have been cranked up to maximum unpleasantness and there’s a few pints of Kensington Gore thrown into the mix. This means that when this film wraps itself in the shadows, indulging in some 12a rated horror it becomes a breathless thrill ride, however since that occupies only two thirds of the movie you’re still left with the usual Potter flaws.

The main problem with all the Potter films has been their faithfulness to the books. In order not to annoy the legion of fans – more fanatical than the Taliban – they’ve kept almost every last word and scene and even with a director like David Yates they’ve never found a way to avoid the long dull passages of expository dialogue which slam the brakes on the films momentum.

The other oft stated negative of the series is the acting of the three leads. The performances have never been Oscar bothering stuff, however hidden behind lighting bolts, transformational spells and more great British character actors than you can shake a stick at they managed to just about get away with it. The performances have improved over the years and the surprise package here is Rupert Grint as Ron who having been asked to gurn his way through most of the last six movies manages to squeeze some genuine emotion out of his scenes, despite its flaws has just about enough dark material to keep wizard fans happy.