highly entertaining, well-edited.

Rating: Null/10 (8 June 2014)

like everyone else of my generation I was a huge fan of the books, but as they fade from my memory it's easier to enjoy the films on their merits alone. I'll say this for the harry potter series: they're entertaining. of course, so were the books; jk rowling's success is all the more extraordinary when one considers what a thing of the past reading has become; even in the 90s I remember the majority of my friends being more interested in the Disney channel.
but I digress. this is a film which stands on its own merits: the characters are fully-fleshed; exposition is done efficiently and skillfully; there's an excellent balance of (actual, real, old-fashioned) acting, suspense, and humor. the visuals are done tastefully and care is taken not to bring undue attention to obvious cgi work; the camera lingers long enough to let of enjoy those exotic shots which undoubtedly required hundreds of hours of manpower all for a few seconds of screen time, then quickly brings our focus back to bear on the that which is most important: the characters, and their story.
I remember seeing this film in theaters as a teen and being frustrated with my peers for actually being able to sit all the way thru, but that's what I get for having grown up with the great American cinema classics. several years of dark knight clones later, I'm beginning to feel a little spoiled.
and of course I appreciate seeing maggie smith, alan rickman, and others. I even really, really liked michael gambon's dumbledore, whose coy quips are the highlight of the latter films.