Excellent overall, but slightly rushed

Rating: 10/10 (19 November 2005)

This movie was great. I walked out of the theatre and was nearly willing to walk back in and see it again had it not been 10pm. The acting in this movie felt top-notch to me. I feel that Dan, Rupert, and Emma have all immensely improved in their acting abilities, giving a much more natural feel to the performance. And of course, the supporting cast was excellent as always, especially Miranda Richardson (Rita Skeeter) and, as always, Alan Rickman (Snape). Now, before I lay out my complaints with this movie, let me start by saying that I am an immense fan of the books and have read each one numerous times. I am all for having a five hour movie that further encompasses more of the book, yet I have come to expect the reality that such a treat will most likely never come (Although an extended edition, like in the Lord of the Rings series would be great). My main gripe has to do with the time of the movie. Yes, two and a half hours is a long running time, however, for this movie, an extra half hour would have been plenty to overall round out this film. In several scenes, it was noticeable that the actors had rushed their dialogue. Classroom scenes and various non-plot related scenes, the ones that give the books their flare, were missing. And finally, a major part of the book, at least in my mind, was the Quidditch World Cup, yet, where was it, if somewhere besides that short clip of nothing happening. The least they could have done is a five minute scene of highlights of it. Besides these gripes, minor compared to the remainder of the film, I would whole-heartedly recommend seeing this film. Now you'll have to excuse me, for I am leaving to go watch it again.