An enjoyable movie if not for the unanswered questions and poor ending

Rating: 6/10 (30 December 2004)

I hate to say it, but this was actually quite good, and definitely far better than the first movie. The characterisation is much better, although they still carry through a few too many ideas and there is, once again, a problem at the end with tying up the loose ends far too quickly and neatly but still leaving too many unanswered questions.
There's a lot more darkness and levity to this story, and less concentrating on the pure kids element, which I think is beneficial for the the audience of adults and children alike.
The effects are also ramped up a notch from the first, and with no overly CGI effect scenes like the Quidditch match, they are all quite believable. Almost too much for me in the case of the spiders.
Kenneth Branagh is particularly enjoyable on screen, and plays a thoroughly comedic character, something he does very well considering the majority of his performances. Robbie Coltrane provides my second favourite performance in this episode, and he comes across as a thoroughly likable giant. Alan Rickman and Jason Isaacs outperforming each other on the creepy, slimy stakes, Emma Watson as Hermione is much less eyebrow and annunciation. It has to be said the casting is extremely good.
All in all an enjoyable movie, despite the ending tie ups and the unanswered questions, it does hold up well. Just not something I would particularly want to watch again.