Harry at his best

Rating: 10/10 (22 November 2005)

I thought that this was by far the best of the Harry Potter films. Yes, they had to reduce certain parts of the story in order to make the film and acceptable length, but the editing was done well. The only short coming to the film was the fact that the director left out a scene in which the characters announce that the Order of the Phoenix is being called up to fight Voldemort - however, this omission does not hurt this film the way that the omission of the explanation of the names on the Marauder's Map hurt the third film. Apart from this being the only real shortcoming, this film exhibited a higher level of humor, truly British in its nature. The fact that Mike Newell is the first British Director most likely has some part in this. I found that the theatre resounded with laughter on numerous occasions throughout the film. The characters also seemed to blend together in a more seamless manner than they have before. I feel that it would be in the film maker's best interest to keep Newell on for the remainder of the series. This is the best acting thus far that I have witnessed on behalf of the younger actors. The only recommendation that I could make would be to include the adult characters more. Such wonderful actors are cast in the supporting role - I would love to see them with more air time.