A journey that for many fans began in 1997 with “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” is finally drawing to a close with “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1,” the film adaptation of the final book.

While many saw the decision to split the film into two parts to more accurately represent the book a cheap ploy to double ticket prices, people now realize that it was the right decision to keep the storytelling pace intact.

For those of you who have lived under a rock for the past decade, “Deathly Hallows” is the seventh and final “Harry Potter” book.

In this final book, Harry, Ron and Hermione are on a quest to find the last five Horcruxes, Voldemort’s secret to immortality. These are magical items that contain Voldemort’s soul that must be destroyed if Harry hopes to defeat him.

The film runs 146 minutes but never drags or slows down. The pace keeps the action moving but also preserves the subtlety of the book.

This is arguably the best, most accurate “Harry Potter” adaptation to date, as it alters almost nothing about the book.

The best part of this movie, and the franchise in general, is that they’ve spent six films building up the world of Harry Potter, six films introducing you to all the characters and developing them, and six films leading to this movie.

The acting is superb in this movie, with every actor fully immersed in his or her character; Daniel Radcliffe IS Harry Potter, Rupert Grint IS Ron Weasley and Emma Watson IS Hermione Granger.

As a film, it is a perfect sequel, carrying the story gracefully to its conclusion. Director David Yates beautifully captures the world using long, elegantly wide shots and well-framed scenes that show off both the great sets as well as the characters.

The story depicted is only half of the seventh book, ending at a satisfying and logical place.

This movie is also the darkest of the films and most adult. This movie features adult characters with adult themes and isn’t afraid to make things miserable for the characters and the audience.

Fans will love this movie for being faithful and fun, like all “Harry Potter” movies, and I am happy to report that the spirit of “Harry Potter” remains intact and the humor is still very present and funny.

The Weasley brothers have very little screen time in this movie but still shine with the time they have. Luna Lovegood is also hilarious as always, as is Dobby the elf.

Ron and his interactions with Harry and Hermione are hilarious, and it really helps to lighten the mood when needed.

The movie is also terribly sad, and for reasons I can’t say, I cried at the end of the movie.

Like I mentioned, this is a very adult movie and isn’t the happy-go-lucky adventure that some of the others were.

Overall, this is my favorite Harry Potter movie and is beautifully and masterfully told.

Odd directorial choices aside, I’d say this is a near-perfect movie and I recommend it to fans of the series.

This is the beginning of the end of “Harry Potter” and for many of us, the end of our childhood.