A big step down from Azkaban

Rating: 3/10 (5 July 2007)

After flirting briefly with passable film-making with the third movie in the series, they've taken a big step backwards this time. It's not nearly as bad as 1 or 2, mind you, but it sure ain't good.
With three different directors having taken the reins, it would be easy to lay the blame on the director. But he certainly can't be the only one responsible here. No, it takes the combined effort of a whole lot of people to make so many things about a movie suck.
First and foremost: the story. I've never been a Potter fan, that's no secret, even though I thought the third film was alright. The story here is just as lame and simplistic as the last few, and the horrible writing of both Rowling and the screenplay adapter create such an awful, pathetic plot that I found myself laughing AT the movie and shaking my head in amazement that so many people love this crap. What the hell were those choreograohed entrances of the different schools' students?!? The bath scene (with another badly acted and stupid character - that dead girl)? A Dance? Blatant exposition when Voldemort decided to explain what happened years ago? And again, as in the first films, the headmasters arbitrarily rewarding Harry with extra points or consideration just because he's our hero. And don't even get me started on the painfully horrible dialogue. The acting is just as melodramatic and bad, and the character designs are getting more laughable. "Mad Eye Moody" (a complete waste of Brendan Gleeson's talent), has this eye that is the stupidest looking thing I've ever seen in my entire movie-going life. It looks like someone's bad homemade Halloween costume. Simply idiotic. Lastly, the special effects were really not done very well. much of it looks somewhat obviously fake, and even when it is well done, it's often not integrated very well with the live action elements and that makes it look lame.
Of course, much of this would be completely forgivable and understandable if it was truly a film made for kids. Kids don't care about bad acting or bad effects or silly dialogue. But with a series like this, which tries to boast that it's a film for all ages, backed up by the PG-13 rating on this one, it sure comes off extremely juvenile to me. I just don't get it. It's just like the books - If the kids love it, fine. But the fact that adults praise these films and love them? I just don't understand. I guess I never will.