The best of the series so far

Rating: 9/10 (16 December 2005)

The fourth installment in the Harry Potter series sent me on a thrill ride of emotions. The director did a wonderful job of balancing the humor amidst the horror of the events that took place in the film. It left me anxiously awaiting the next film too come.
Overall, I thought the movie held fast to the most important story lines in the book. The first 15 minutes were a bit choppy, but it's hard to compress eleven chapters of material into that short amount of time, so I'll forgive the loss of bits and pieces of storyline that were left out in the beginning. Once the film got into the tournament, most of the major story elements were left in place, and the film progressed fairly smoothly. The end was a bit choppy again, and I felt some points that were left out and/or glossed over should have been left in, so those who have not read the books would understand why the Ministry of Magic would choose to hide the fact that Lord Voldemort had returned. The entire premise of the next book in the series is based upon this disbelief, and how Harry is made to suffer for telling the truth. It will be interesting to see how this problem is addressed in the next film.
As far as the characters go, I was pleased to see Fred and George, and their antics, take a seat front and center. They were by far my favorites. All the actors seem to be more and more comfortable with their roles, and the acting is improving with each film. Again, it will be interesting too see how much they have grown and matured when the next film installment is made. I just hope we don't loose any of the major cast members before the series is completed. (I still picture Richard Harris as Dumbledore, even though Michael Gambon is doing an excellent job in the last two films) All in all, I would say this is the best of the four films thus far. I am eagerly awaiting Order of the Phoenix.