Savagely, yet sensibly, edited version of a huge book

Rating: 9/10 (3 December 2005)

The big problem this film had to start with was dealing with a huge book and reducing it to a suitable length for film. An early option considered was to split it into two films, but this was scrapped. The editing of the story is necessarily savage, but has been done in such a way that it sill makes sense of itself. Nevertheless, it is part of a sequence, and viewers who might not have seen the other films might be left confused about some details. So much good stuff in the book has had to be snipped.
What really struck me in the film was the strong emphasis on humour. The darkness of the story is repressed right up to the cemetery sequence, giving that much greater impact.
The music is truly awful - within the first 10 seconds of the opening credits, I knew it wasn't the work of John Williams - unimaginative orchestration, drab arrangements, and some poor choices in underscoring the narrative.
The M rating (in Australia) for the film is well deserved, although I suspect most children will have read the book before viewing the film and well know what to expect.
The action sequences are magnificent - especially with the dragon. The Quidditch World Cup sequence is unfortunately glossed over, but really does convey the excitement of a (muggle) World Cup.
The characterization of Mad-Eye Moody is brilliant. A fine acting performance is delivered by Ralph Fiennes, as well as (suprisingly) Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. Emma Watson still plays emotions a little woodenly.
The sound design is particularly impressive - the work of the wonderful Randy Thom.
In style, the film returns to that of the Chamber of Secrets - refreshing after the quirky excesses of Prisoner of Azkaban. The nature of the character interactions is quite different in this movie - the characters are definitely growing up! And this is the source of a lot of the humour.