The best Harry Potter movie so far, and a good movie to boot

Rating: 8/10 (21 March 2006)

I never really liked the first two movies in this series- they failed to entertain and capture me like the books did, even though the first two books were not as entertaining and capturing as the following four. Prisoner of Azkaban was a good movie, but I was angry at some plot points left out and the treatment of Hermione as a character (She's cool in the movies, but uncool in the books. Correct me if I'm wrong.) Now this one completely delivers- even despite the missing plot points, something Azkaban (the movie) failed to fully do.
This movie holds everything that the book does. The action is fun and worth watching and it stays pretty much true to the major plot points in the book. Director Mike Newell and Screenwriter Steve Kloves took a few liberties, but that's necessary for a Bible-length book like Harry Potter. But where the first two failed and the third only began to comprehend was how to harness the spirit of Rowling's writing. Rowling has dry humor and loves her characters and settings, imbuing each one with something wonderful. Newell captures both excellently in this movie- the dry humor and the wonder in her characters- and he does so without strenuously copying every plot detail from the book (listen up, Chris Columbus).
I loved this movie and love it apart from the book. The cast is still good and has always been good, and Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes make good additions to it. If the fifth movie is as good as this one, I'll say it was worth making the series into a movie franchise.