Harry Potter's "Empire?"

I read an interesting review of "Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1" that compared the film to "Empire Strikes Back," regarded as both the best and darkest of the original "Star Wars" films.

As I watched the "Deathly Hallows" — a great film that fans of the series will love to see — I couldn't help but think of the comparison. It makes sense, for a lot of reasons.

What makes "Empire" stand out is the way it took the story. The middle part of the series, it ups the stakes for the principle characters, establishes the growing relationship between two of the leads, and takes a darker tone than the other films. It leaves the heroes in a precarious position, eliciting a strong emotional reaction from the audience.

That certainly fits "Deathly Hallows Part 1" in a lot of ways. The film puts the principle characters — characters we've come to know and love over six films — in greater peril, the film has a darker tone, and it furthers the relational growth between the characters. I guess that's a long way of saying I liked it, I thought it was great, and I think it does an excellent job of setting up July's final chapter!