These Harry Potter movies are starting to make me grumpy.

Coming out of "Half-Blood Prince," I felt that the filmmakers didn't even try to make the film coherent to people who hadn't already read the book, and that trend continues with the first half of "Deathly Hallows." To make matters worse, all fun and whimsy have been drained out of this story, so not only was I confused, I was also depressed. The who's who of adult British actors that have been the only reason to stick with this series in the first place are mostly absent, save for an initial action sequence that stands as this film's highlight. It all goes downhill from there, and most of the movie consists of Harry, Hermione and Ron (and mostly just Harry and Hermione), sitting around in barren, rocky places looking gloomy. (If the kids can whisk themselves away anywhere, why don't they at least go into hiding someplace warm and sunny?) These characters simply aren't interesting enough to carry an entire film, and the absence of Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Brendan Gleeson (who bites it off screen early on but whose death is treated so casually by the script that you might not even know he died), David Thewlis, etc. is sorely missed.

The film's production values and sheer technical skill are enough to mask the fact that the script doesn't make any sense, and it's not until after the movie is over and you've had a chance to ruminate on it that you begin to feel like you've been snowed.

I will see the final installment because I might as well now, but it damn well better be good.

Grade: C