Richly imaginative, darker and scarier than most of the other Potter films...

Rating: 7/10 (10 March 2006)

DANIEL RADCLIFFE and his company of wizards are having the scariest ride of all in this dark, dangerous and yet fun-filled thriller with absolutely stupefying special effects and some slam bang cinematography that is nothing short of dazzling.
Readers of the novel may quip at all the material that couldn't be included, but the movie is extremely well-paced with a fair amount of humor to liven up even the scariest moments. The story is a lot less complex to follow than some of the others and lets you concentrate on the rich assortment of characters with almost Dickensian names.
MIRANDA RICHARDSON does a nifty job as an overly exuberant journalist who exaggerates her tabloid material (by the name of Rita Skeeter), and Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson do their usual superb jobs in their by now familiar roles.
RALPH FIENNES does a chilling job as Voldemort for the final maze sequence which makes it questionable whether parents should let the very young watch this without fair warning. He's the meanest, darkest villain yet in all these Potter stories and does a brilliant job of being villainous.
For Potter fans, this should come as a welcome chapter in this series, extremely well directed and acted thanks to a superb cast and crew. Patrick Doyle's music is a good background score without being too obtrusive.