It’s darker! it’s probably a bit better! It reminds STS of the time our Uncle Dave dropped his Patronus at a wedding (the police arrived shortly afterwards). It’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part one, (hereafter referred to in it’s easy-to-remember acronymic form HPATDHPO) and from the looks of this..well, it’ll be alright, like.

Even though you know what’s coming, the latest chapter in the HP saga still manages to appeal and enthrall by dint of an all pervading sense of menace throughout. It’s a huge cliché to say that each film is darker than the last, but here the villains – often played previously as pantomime moustache-twirlers – finally blossom into genuine threats, their evil casual and malicious and all the better for it. Throughout, there’s a real feeling that any of the leads could perish in an instant and despite Rowling’s occasional use of magic to neatly sidestep painting herself into a corner (Ron’s poisoning a case in point), fans hardened and casual will find some genuine, edge-of-seat moments to enjoy here.

Throughout, the film is a nice mixture of talk and action, the opening sequence over London featuring Death Eaters swooping like black ink in water is exceptional, tightly edited and genuinely pushing the boundaries of the 12A certificate, with hints at hundreds dying as the Millennium Bridge is destroyed. Likewise, while there are overly talky scenes throughout, they never become boring, with Harry finally realising the true danger he-who-shall-not-be-named poses. A growing menace lovingly conveyed via some beautifully dark photography by Amelie DoP Bruno Delbonnel, the opening storm staying on throughout, tiniting everything grey and transforming the previous Christmas box tweeness of Hogwarts into a mess of shadows and looming, unfriendly architecture.

As per usual, there is a marked improvement in the acting and although Radcliffe himself stays within some tightly delineated lines, he conveys a growing sense of determination effectively, managing to get away (just) with dialogue that is often overly purple. Likewise Rupert Grint continues to excel in the affably likable stakes, although Emma Watson perhaps relies too heavily on her burgeoning good looks, with her scenes often overly stagy and rather distracting because of it. Of the grown ups, Helena Bonham Carter stands out, her Ballatrix La Strange eerily menacing and sadly underused and while many of the other resident Brit thesps seem to be on a retainer, simply there to fill the screen rather than add anything useful to proceedings, Jim Broadbent puts in an incredibly strong appearance as Horace Slughorn, his physical comedy a genuine pleasure in a franchise often guilty of mugging, whilst still managing to imbue many of his scenes with genuine pathos.

On the downside, the challenge of squeezing 800-odd pages into one film often means too much exposition and Rowling’s tendency to rely too heavily on Deus Ex Machina doesn’t help, giving the feeling that some scenes are cut off half way through, while the smaller points that previously worked to flesh out the magical world are often sadly absent here – a grin-inducing appearance by the Weasley twins notwithstanding. It’s a small quibble, but one that the next film will hopefully have more room to rectify.

This dense plotting also means that viewers unfamiliar with the books (including yours truly) may find themselves slightly bemused by seemingly unimportant plot points that, at this stage at least, are never expanded upon, whilst the knowledge that the real action is coming up in the next two movies may leave you frustrated.

That said, this is an excellent exercise in tension-building. Beautifully rendered with some innovative effects and genuine good humour, it also finds the time to be truly thrilling. A strong addition to the series, with some lovely and affecting performances and a sense of elan papering over the previous film’s weaker characterisation. Not quite magic, but very close indeed.