In "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the penultimate entry in the decade-long "Harry Potter" movie series (it covers only one-half of the final novel with the second half due out at a later time), things are going from bad to worse for our intrepid little band of wand-waving heroes and the people who have taught and raised them. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is running for his life from the evil Lord Voldemort, who's made it his life's mission to personally finish off the young lad, and the Ministry of Magic has been taken over by Death Eaters, who have begun a wave of persecution against all Muggle-born witches and wizards.

For those who are die-hard devotees of the "Potter" series and who have literally grown up with these characters, watching "Deathly Hallows" must feel a bit like going to the prom in the run-up to senior graduation (an apt comparison since Harry, Hermione and Ron are now all well into their adolescence with all the teen-drama and angst that that inevitably entails). For those of us who are but casual observers of the tales, the movie feels muddled and poky, its storytelling much too esoteric and confusing and its pacing much too slow. The latter may be attributed to the fact that this is only one-half of the story, with the promise of a tighter resolution to come in the final installment. Still, that doesn't make sitting through this film any more palatable or entertaining.