Not as good as the book

Rating: 7/10 (28 December 2005)

This would have been a fantastic film for me had I not read the book first and had not see Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter 1 & 2. Michael Gambon is a fabulous actor but plays Dumbledore overly dramatically. In the books Albus Dumbledore is portrayed as a calm but strong willed person showing no sign of panic at any time, but in Harry Potter 4 he seemed to lose it on more than one occasion. Many wonderful vital parts of the book where missing(Including a character or two)such as the explanation as to how Barty Crouch Junior escaped from Azkaban and what happened to him after he was exposed as the fake Madeye Moody. I realize the book was a hell of a size to fit into a movie but I'd have sat through hours more film to get the full story. We also saw no disbelief or worry on Lord Voldemort's face when he and Harry duelled in the graveyard as the wands clashed. I'd hoped that that scene would have been in full. The special effects make the movie what it is; a blockbuster of a film but I'd recommend reading the book to fill in the blanks.