Decent enough to watch...

Rating: 7/10 (18 November 2005)

I'm a fan of Harry Potter. I've read the books, seen the movies, and I feel that there's a point I must hit on before continuing this review. I realize that the books and the movies are pretty much completely different entities. What I mean is this: one cannot disclaim one of the movies solely based on the fact that it was different from the book or less than a mirror image translation. The chasm between novel and screen is a difficult one to cross.
That said, though this movie plays out like the crew took the book to the butcher, I can only say the movie is slightly less enjoyable than if it had been all-inclusive and perfectly unaltered. The poor page-to-film translation is but one small reason that I have given this a mediocre rating.
The acting by the kids gets better and better with each movie and I feel I should point out Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom in particular. Daniel Radcliffe shows great emotion and the ever-quirky Ron is made even more humorous by Rupert Grint's performance. Emma Watson's tearful portrayal of a confused girl caught in the childish adolescence of two boys also makes a significant impact on the film. I have to say, however, that I was thoroughly nonplussed by Gary Oldman's appearance here. Enough of that.
Something I felt needed work at several places throughout the flick was how the very necessary comedy clashed with the dark tone of the more serious scenes. I felt they were disconnected, like I was watching two very different movies whose reels got mixed up at the theater.
Also, there are a couple of things which go unexplained. This is where I have to take off points for the translation since the movie seems at times to be contrived by not explaining events that have happened. There are spoilers afoot here. Readers beware.
The situation with Neville Longbottom's parents is never explained and, as a result, a person who has never read the book might think of Neville as a blubbering pansy when he watches Mad-Eye Moody perform the Cruciatus curse on the spider. Also, the phenomenon of Priori Incantatem, though touched upon, was never given the two-sentence explanation it needed. Perhaps these things will be seen in the Deleted Scenes section of the DVD.
For now, enjoy the movie, and don't denounce it for the sheer fact that it's not the book.