Good - Not better than #3

Rating: Null/10 (19 November 2005)

The Harry Potter franchise, an exponential phenomenon since film one, doesn't fail to dazzle and delight with it's newest installment. To put it simply, the film is fun, full of palpable teenage dilemmas and nightmarish threats from the true forces of evil.
It lacks the emotional strength that drove "Azkaban", opting instead to present a foe that isn't covered in any Hogwarts classroom - a problem that no fourth year student is eager to deal with - puberty. In between action scenes, which are part of a traditional magic tournament of champions, our heroes fight awkward moments with the opposite sex. Harry stumbles upon his words as he attempts to ask Cho Chang to the school dance. And just like in real life, the girls seem to have it all figured out before the boys. As "After School Specially" that this may seem, the moments are broken up well, so we're not overwhelmed with embarrassing memories from our childhood.
The nightmare comes in the form of Voldemort, the evil wizard and leader of a gang known as the "Death Eaters". Voldemort - a disembodied nemesis thus-far, chills us with his slimy hissing voice. It isn't until this film that we finally see the real face of this creature, who happens to be Ralph Feinnes, and part of the eeriness disappears. The threat is eminent, but the mystery is gone, and once you look in your closet - the monster isn't so scary.
It's a fair adaptation (this having been my favorite book up until "Half Blood Prince") and proves worthy to stand in the library, but the emotional arc of Harry Potter seems to get lost in the picture somewhere. If this film was able to contain that fragile theme of being alone in the world, it would have been my favorite, but "Azkaban" wins that prize.