“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1” is the penultimate film in a series that began with Christopher Columbus directing a young, mischievous cast of Gremlin-like characters, but this newest picture is far more adult-oriented and melancholy.

Harry Potter, Hermione and Ron are adults now, though they still grumble and whine like they did as twelve-year old brats. However, where Dumbledore lamented Harry being forced to grow up in the face of adversity, Harry and co. seems to take the growing up as their own initiative in a way that’s more believable and sad than previously accustomed. This has much to do with the death of characters in previous films and the sudden deaths of some important characters here, but director David Yates doesn’t let up.

In fact, the film starts out with a close-up of the Minister of Magic (played with aplomb by Bill Nighy) admitting the darkness of the current plight and it doesn’t stop there in the search to destory Voldemort’s horcruxes. At the same time, the film is full of ingenious sequences and moments that make the experi- ence fulfilling for both fans and non-fans alike.

There’s the three magic-teers polyjuicing themselves into disguises while infiltrating the Ministry of Magic. The triumph of the film is its shadow puppet animation short film, detailing the story behind the “deathly hallows.”

It’s beautiful and worth the price of admission alone. Unfortunately, the movie gets lost in its Harry/Ron/Hermione triangle and bickering during a super long camping expedition that adds very little to a film that desperately needs more story development.

The long hormonal sequence seems to exist to satisfy the series’ fans who’ve grown up with these characters, but it takes too long and could have been shortened when there are more interesting characters to explore like Snape, Grindewald, Dumbledore’s history, Lupin, Bellatrix, and yes, even Voldemort.

The worst part of this film is that it ends without an ending. It’s a cheap cliffhanger that follows a deus ex machina rescue of Harry Potter and friends without letting him or anyone else show how adult they really are.

Sure, it’s preparation for the final film, but it wasted precious storytelling time with cheap romantic development and then no character development at all. If the beginning and middle of the series were so entertaining, why can’t the end be so as well? Why can’t it even have an ending, for that matter?