adequate entertainment

Rating: 4/10 (20 November 2005)

Obviously the movie was filled with great visuals and all the characters we have grown to enjoy and grow with, but I felt that at best, this movie was only adequate to the task of portraying the story.
The book is big, and complex. The movie ends up showing and leaving open so many loose, untied ends that I walked out at the end wondering what I had seen. Not that the movie was bad, but without the familiarity of having read the story I would have been lost, and with the familiarity I was wondering where the story went.
The characters did a good job. Moody was pretty close, but I keep getting disappointed in Dumbledore. He is truly the wizard most capable of having power equal to Voldermort, but since Harris passed away, he doesn't appear to have that air of always being in control and knowing what is going on, even when confusion and concern are rampant. I don't think he would ever grab and shake Harry as he did in one scene and I didn't like it.
The movie was just to jumbled. Throws you into the World Quidditch Tournament, then this quick Death Eater thing and then into the Tri-Wizard Tournamanet and you know that there are gaping holes that unless you are familiar with the book, just can't be filled and even then its murky.
I'd rather see something 3 hours long that delves more into the story than some hatchet job, even if well intentioned.