Cutting to the chase...

Rating: 8/10 (27 November 2005)

Dumbledore's death in book six may be open to debate, but there is no doubt that he was brutally murdered in movie 4. I'm not quite sure whom Mr.Gambon was portraying but it was not the serene and profoundly wise character Albus Dumbledore (and I would be lying if I didn't say I found that more than a little distracting). Couple this with the abbreviated portrayal of the World Cup and you have my two biggest complaints about this movie. Did I miss the Dursleys, Weasleys and Sirius? To be sure. Would I have preferred more details? Absolutely. But I felt this movie managed to hold its ground despite the changes made. And in all honesty (despite all the fuss) there were certain things that really should have been left out; Winky and S.P.E.W. being at the top of the list. It is hard to imagine, even with two separate movies and a total of four hours, how you could explain a race of people who enjoy servitude, don't want freedom, and become angry or fearful with anyone who tries to help them achieve it (even one of their own). I barely grasp this concept within the confines of the 734 page storyline. Suffice it to say that including Winky (a modern day throwback to Prissy from Gone with the Wind) could only be described as celluloid suicide in this day and age(think Jar Jar Binks of Star Wars fame). In this case Mr Newell made the right decision and should be congratulated for doing so. Some things REALLY are best left to the printed page.
As far as performances were concerned no one seemed to command as much attention as Daniel Radcliffe, who (despite rude comments to the contrary) seemed to embrace Harry Potter wholeheartedly in this installment. His acting (even before the graveyard scene) showed incredible growth and fearlessness paralleling that of his alter ego, and I have to admit that I was happily surprised. All in all I found this movie very enjoyable despite its shortcomings, omissions and alterations and I can only conclude that Harry Potter fans everywhere would do well to take a cue from Harry and just grow up.