not for the kiddies

Rating: 10/10 (20 November 2005)

We middled-aged Harry Potter fans loved it, but the nine-year-old godson fidgeted throughout. It has lots of exposition and dialog, and the action sequences were downright dark and creepy. Mr. Fiennes, as Voldemort, will give me nightmares for years to come.
The romance angle was charming, and Hermione has turned into a gorgeous young woman, doing a Cinderella turn in the ballroom scene. Master Radcliffe shows off his torso in a naughty bathtub scene with the girl ghost. Clearly, these three kids are going to be a bit old when it comes time to play 17-year-olds in Movie 7. Only some extraordinary witchcraft in the make-up department will allow these young adults to come off as teenagers in a few years' time.
Already, it was a bit of a stretch to buy Harry as only 14 years of age in this one, but it wasn't impossible, so this outing was by far the most successful rendition of Rowling's words. I'd call it a masterpiece.