Sure, books are always better, but I liked the dark setup and looking forward to the second part...

The first part of an overly long movie. It is actually a pretty good adaption, because the characters spend most of the time doing nothing, which is true to the source material. This doesn't really work for me and just diminishes the rewatch factor.

It was unnecessarily long. Too slow. Worst among all the movies.

The decision to split the final book into two parts means this is the first entry in the series that lacks a complete story and it’s a shame that a large section of the film feels padded out. It certainly starts strongly with the central trio isolated and on the run, but also seeking a way to defeat Voldemort - the sequence in the Ministry of Magic being tense, yet still a lot of fun despite the stakes. It’s a shame the film drags in its middle section, not just in terms of story but also because the character moments and themes have been covered before and are becoming a little repetitive. It does pick up in the final act which leads to a surprisingly emotional climax and there is a beautiful animated sequence that provides some backstory and explanation to the title of the film. Perhaps the sheer volume of plot and story still to be covered in Part 2 meant this film was inevitable, but equally there are certainly elements from the final film that could have been added here and resulted in two more balanced films.