Harry Potter personally has been an enjoyable series of films to date, however it lacked the epic scale and plot that up to the fifth film The Order of The Phoenix finally corrected. The fifth and sixth films of the series finally hit gold with the epic scale that brought back memories of The Lord of The Rings or the Star Wars prequel films. In part one of the final film, Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione face off against the dark lord himself in a race to turn back the tide he has brought with him consuming the land.

In this finale, the scale of things has been lifted and no longer do we have a child like world that the first few films incorporated. From the start of this film, you know it has come a long way and matured into something more deeper and epic. No longer do our characters have a safety net to save them, at the final moment of the film and nor is there a quick fix present for them. Instead we have soul searching, character development and confessions being made that set the groundwork for part two.

Harry, Hermione and Ron have matured and grown into the characters we waited for them to become. Battle hardened, scarred warriors that have their flaws, but also their strengths that they will need to use against their enemies. This is also a film that will hit fans of the franchise hard, with many characters falling at the hands of the dark lord and will surely be missed.

The budget has also been raised for these two final instalments, and its obviously with the scale of locations, effects and plot-driven events. I feel that The Deathly Hallows has reached the epic level of Lord of The Rings, and even Star Wars. I think that the studio and director finally caught onto the success of The Half-Blood Prince with its dark theme and story, following on with the dark lord now taking over every foundation of the Wizarding world, our heroes are desperate, and at times turn on one another out of fear and desperation.

You feel these characters have grown and can now survive on their own, as they have to and have no one there to help them. This is a great start to the finale, and I cannot wait for the final part and hope the dark theme and epic scale continue.