Reliably Potter, but flawed all the same

Rating: 6/10 (31 December 2005)

Of all the Harry Potter films so far, this is the one with the worst problem: it is truly /the/ most poorly edited film I've ever seen. Usually, one pays little attention to editing in a good film. In a film where the plot is not well-known, the editing isn't as noticeable; this is never going to be the case with most well-known adaptations of fantasy stories like the Potter series. Familiarity with the plot points make the scene transitions seem more, not less, important. That's where this film loses me.
The bad editing makes these transitions choppy and unrealistic; this becomes really obvious toward the end of the film, and almost unbearable during the climactic emotional "ball" scene. I could have cried as the film jumped from scene to scene, and completely lost continuity in some places. What a shame. The acting is, from the vignettes I /was/ able to enjoy, superb--especially that of Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) who gave such an emotional wallop to the romantic tension that it really hurt to watch.
The length of this book probably had a lot to do with the jumpy transitions. There was an awful lot of material to cover, to be certain; however, rather than handling the excess as the first two books did, by alluding to it, this film attempts to *include* it, albeit in a really grossly truncated form, and ends up with a whole lot of bits and pieces that don't hang together! I was appalled at the opening--the horribly shortened and completely unexplainable World Quidditch Cup scenes. They teased the viewer with incredible special effects, then abruptly abandoned them in less than 10 minutes of film--and didn't look back! I was left wondering who pulled the rug out from under me. And that was only the beginning. The rest of the film followed suit, ruining what might have been a wonderful viewing experience. Even the actors looked confused. I wonder when this film is released on DVD how long the "deleted scenes" section will be--it /ought/ to be at least 45 minutes! Aside from this major (and truly ruinous) flaw, the film is reliably a Harry Potter film. The characters act as they ought, the special effects are fantastic (and why shouldn't they be?) and the way is paved for the next film, and the next. **sigh** Where is Alphonse Cuaron when you need him?