Charlie Martinez

Editor in Chief

It was a dark night, but that did not stop the throng of muggles that gathered outside Regal Cinemas, waiting to be admitted the latest release of the Harry Potter film. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” was released midnight Nov. 19.

Potter fans began gathering outside of the theater at 8 a.m. on Thursday. They brought all matters of entertainment with them. Some had tents, games, and food delivered right to where they were waiting in line.

These hardcore fans were not about to let the wait, or the cold, interfere with their dedication to J.K. Rowling’s book series, which has been made into a successful series of movies.

One self proclaimed Potter Fan is Kaitie Hutton, 16 a Fruita Monument High School student. She was dressed to the nines in Ron Weasley attire, and had been waiting in line since 2 p.m. With the seventh book in hand, she voiced how excited she was for the first part of the conclusion to the Harry Potter era.

“I know I’m gonna cry,” said Hutton. “I’ve read all the books every summer. And I read the seventh book at least four times.”

The scene was similar to what J.K Rowling writes about the World Cup Quidditch match in book four, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” Although there was no smoke billowing from magical chimneys attached to tents, there were aspects about the tents in line that seemed magical.

Natalie Keim, 19, a Kinesiology major here at Mesa State had been sitting in the comfort of her tent since 11 a.m.

“We have blankets, food, sleeping bags, games, food, even our computers,” Keim said about the necessities of her tent.

She and two friends had been doing just about anything to pass the time, including homework.

Another group had been in line since 9 a.m. These Grand Junction High School students were even excused from classes so that they could be at the front of the line.

“I’m excited to see where the movie stops, “ said Devan Thibodaux, 18, a Grand Junction High School student. His group had brought their books, and took turns reading passages out of them in order to fully dive into the wizarding world they were about to see.

In order to be at the very front of the line, a person would have had to beat Kyrie, 14 and Isabel, 18, Burson, two sisters so dedicated to the Harry Potter world, they showed up at 8 a.m. to get the very first spot in line. When asked how they had passed the time all day, Isabel replied, “Reading, listening to music, just about anything.” Both girls have read the Potter books more times than they can count.

“I read the seventh book again about two weeks ago. I didn’t want to read it too close to the movie because then I’d get all purist and wouldn’t be able to enjoy the movie,” said Isabel. Both girls were incredibly excited to see how the movie portrayed the book.

As the time grew near for the doors to open and admit viewers into the theaters it grew even colder. To keep warm a friendly bout of duels began. Hutton, dressed as Ron Weasley from the movie, took on challenger Sam Waters, 17, a Fruita Monument High School student. Shouts of “Expelliarmus,” a disarming charm, and “Sectumsempra,” a spell that violently wounds opponents, could be heard emanating from the line.

Magic was tangible as the doors opened around eleven and people began filling seats. The movie itself was spectacular as it recounted the dreadful events that took place in the first part of the seventh book. The two and a half hour movie happened too fast for some audience members. The graphic depictions seemed to fit in well with the way most of the audience had imagined the last book.

But be warned, if you wanted a warm feel-good movie, this is not it. This first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was downright depressing. With two deaths occurring at almost the very beginning of the movie, and then another significant death near the end, no wonder fans were in tears.

However, the film does a pretty good job breaking the book into two parts. Viewers were introduced to the three Deathly Hallows, a wand of extraordinary power, a stone that could bring loved ones back from the dead, and an invisibility cloak that could hide one from Death. The mysteries of the He-who-must-not-be-named’s horocruxes were unraveling, and then it ends leaving a lot left to be told in the final installment of the seventh book.

Muggles and wizards alike will delight in this depiction of Harry Potter’s world. Although dark and violent, this movie was definately worth the wait.