Definitely more comedic than it should have been. Many of the scenes from the book that are supposed to be taken seriously were much less dramatic and intense in the movie thanks to the "comic relief" that David Yates seems to think is necessary for every scene.

In terms of staying true to the book, it was a mixed bag. Lots of the elements from the book were kept in tact, but in a different form; things were switched around and some of the scenes somewhat sloppily pasted together aspects of several scenes from the book into one. There were also some very stupid, unnecessary original scenes- the scene with Harry and Hermione dancing to the radio comes to mind- which had no place in a movie that already has limited time to fit in so much information from the book.

David Yates, while able to get some beautiful shots, is overall a sloppy director, and doesn't seem to put as much passion into the movie as someone who cares about the books would. Some scenes were very well done, such as Godric's Hollow, and the dark tone was more noticeable in the last third of the movie, which was definitely a positive. If less of the scenes relied so heavily on a sort of subtle "punchline," the movie would have been much more engrossing. Jokes in Harry Potter only add cheesiness.

Overall, this was one of the weaker in the series, though it was still a pretty good movie, and especially started to win me over more towards the end. I just hope Part II is handled with a straighter face from Yates. Since the subject matter in the next half of the book is pretty much relentlessly dark, he may not even have a chance to put in any of his little clever jokes, luckily, so I am still looking forward to it. I have a feeling if I see this movie again, I will enjoy it more; I think being in an audience that laughed at every little awkward moment or at the smallest hint of lightheartedness made the movie feel more comedic than it actually was. But there still was too much for a movie as dark as this. Hopefully the next movie will handle the subject matter more seriously. Part II has definite potential.