From the start, Yates shines over his predecessors. The cinematography has a softness with blue overtones, giving it a truly haunting, dreamlike quality, and the visual effects are stunning. True to the book, it's intensely dark, but with enough natural comedy to break from the harrowing plot. Hooper's score is a true variation on a theme, balancing light orchestral tones with fierce symphonic brass. The script falls effortlessly from the lips of the brilliant cast; nothing extraneous or disjointed, only complimentary. Overall, perfectly poised for the final installment. War is coming; lines between student and professor fade as Hogwarts takes on the first shades of its destiny: the last castle, and the battle is soon upon us.