Awesome

Rating: 10/10 (23 November 2005)

This movie was fantastic; in fact I think so far it is the best of the series. After some disappointment with Prisoner of Azkaban I was holding my breath going into this movie, but it not only met but exceeded my expectations. It is not an exact copy of the books which I know did disappoint a few people I know but I also understand there is no good way to make a 734 page book into a movie and keep a movie audience interested, esp., when a portion of your audience doesn't necessarily read the books. However I think people need to remember that this movie is an adaptation, which means it takes the major plot ideas and uses them for a different medium.
The kids did a great job in this movie, it is so much fun watching them grow as actors as the movies progress. Emma and Daniel both turned in winning performances and I am convinced that Rupert was born to play the role of Ron Weasley. Another thing I loved was that Oliver and James Phelps were in the movie more and that they were acting more like Fred and George in the books than they have in previous movies, taking bets on how the Tri Wizard Tournament would turn out and tormenting Ron. I also noticed that Bonnie Wright and Matthew Lewis played a larger part in this movie; hopefully this means we will see their parts increased in the next few movies.
The movie did a great job of capturing the humor as well as the darker side of the book. The Yule Ball was beautiful, the icy theme, and Emma looked gorgeous. The tension between Ron and Hermione was just as I had imagined it when reading the book.
Going into the movie, the scene that worried me the most was the graveyard, but this did not disappoint. They kept the terror that goes through that scene without watering it down. Ralph Fiennes did an excellent job as Voldemorte; he was just as creepy as I pictured him in the books. I am also not ashamed to say the end of this scene and the beginning of the next one (when Harry returns to Hogwarts) as well as the end of term speech Dumbledore gives, brought me to tears, which while that part of the book is sad, the book did not manage to get that response from me.
I highly recommend this movie.