A Letdown From The First Five Minutes

Rating: 6/10 (19 November 2005)

My God what a buildup! From the very start I was on the edge of my seat anticipating the Quidditch World Cup. The Irish National team races in over our heroes heads and begin the show only to be interrupted mid-celebration by Krum and his team. The crowd goes wild as Krum circles, a larger than life version of him pumping his fists flashes across the enchanted stadium and then...the damn movie flashes forward to the kids in the tent...after the game! At this point the movie was dead in the water. No character development, a broad-brush approach to a beautifully written plot, a horrible performance from Gambon and disjointed editing of cut scenes ruined this potential blockbuster. Oh sure, it'll make tons because of the mindless mobs who will love it just because it's HP, but we as HP fans deserved better from Newell and his team. Two 2 1/2 hour films would have been sufficient. If you can't dedicate something like that from here on out, please stop making the books into films! I hate you Mike Newell...and WB.