GREAT Movie

Rating: 10/10 (21 November 2010)

I was thoroughly excited at a new film despite the fact that the last 3 instalments of the series were, at best, disappointments. Potter fans want Potter films of the book. The apparent Hollywood imperative of making movies somewhat different from the books has pervaded the last attempts at adaptation of J.K. Rowlings masterpieces. The last one was mostly a love story between Ron and Hermione, which was, at best, a sideline of the books. Leaving aside, for the moment, the fact that most books, if truly transferred to film, would likely result in exceedingly long movies, movies such as "The Lord of the Rings" managed it quite nicely. It is clear that there are going to be things left out. But one would imagine that writers and directors would be somewhat more careful in the surgery than they had been with "Goblet of Fire", "Half-Blood Prince" and "Order of the Phoenix". I walked into the theatre with anticipation. I walked out satisfied. The reality is that they did have to cut things out. There likely could have been a few more minutes added to keep some of the cuts in, though I suppose that everyone will have their own ideas as to what should have been put back. But the most important aspects of the story and books remained in the movie. There were lots of smiles, lots of laughs and lots of jumps too. The villains were villainous, the heroes heroic. Harry Potter fans will know precisely what is going on. Those who have not read the books may be confused or unable to follow what is happening or why. But, as a Harry Potter fan, I enjoyed it immensely. It was, in my view, far better than several of the previous instalments and is at least as good as the first two movies directed by Tim Burton. When J.K. Rowling says "he got it" when talking about the directors interpretation, I can finally think that she isn't just supporting the studio who has added to her fortune.