sorely disappointing

Rating: 3/10 (20 April 2003)

I saw HP 1 first, and thought, "Ok, pacing isn't that good, but it's beautifully shot and the music is very good, fitting, etc." Then I went back and read the books and thought they were enthralling. HP is truly a work of art. Then I went back to HP 1 on video and thought, "Ok I see where this comes from. It's really quite nice, now that I know what it refers to."

I approached COS the same way. There was a lot of ink written about how CC had accepted his limitations and was working within them comfortably on COS, so the movie seemed like a more comfortable, smoother film. I'm sad to say that, while the film is definitely more limited, it's not at all comfortable.
The pacing was just horrible, with absolutely no dramatic tension. There was a superfluous car chase scene, which I guess was supposed to add action, while the "action" sequence with the whomping willow was ponderously slow. To top it off, Snape's scene was cut in favor of a sequence obviously culled from HP 1's cutting room floor. The enchanted bludger was quite fun. But then we go back to our stupor, until the final sequence with the slythering monster, which is even more unfrightening than dobby. All in all, this was a severe disappointment.