Far and away the best yet

Rating: 8/10 (26 November 2005)

I would have given the first movie 4. Watchable, but just barely. The second a 5, dragged down by that god-awful ending. Third movie a 6 1/2, a definite improvement. This one scored a solid 8. It honestly left the other three in the dust, if you haven't seen this already go and see it! The beginning of the movie was very well done. I have to say that the fan in me was a little disappointed, wanting to see scenes that I have poured over in the books many, many times, but I squashed that little voice down, knowing that seeing those scenes probably would have been a disappointment in itself - one the movie would be unlikely to recover from. Yes, it would have been nice to have seen more of the Quidditch World Cup, but it does not add to the story so would be unnecessary distraction, and the Death Eaters more than made up for any shortening - they were frightening, the scenes were chilling in their realism, the terror and the racial persecution. I also have to say I'm thankful to whoever left the house elves out of it. Winky may have served her purpose in the book, but Barty Crouch Jnr. was far more sinister without her interference - as he should be.
At this point, I have to give thumbs up to David Tennant for his performance, but that's neither here nor there.
The rest of the movie was fast paced and covered the story very well. Once again I had to ruthlessly squelch the fan in me during the first task, with a little more regret this time - the dragon was injured, which should have lost Harry a good deal of points. Still the scenes contained far more depth than they may have done previously under other directors. The second task was excellent, very well done, and I did love Moaning Murtle. Just brilliant.
Actually, most of the minor characters were used to their best in this movie, which was nice to see. It is always more satisfying when you have a good solid set of minor characters. Aside from Alan Rickman, usually we suffer here. He always puts in an exceptional performance, but this time thanks to writing and directing everyone was done well.
The maze was not bad, the way the vines kept closing around, and the paths were shifting was extremely creepy, and much better than monsters probably could have been here. A good choice, many movies are still let down by the CGI, and to not have anything that had the potential to go sideways was wise. The effects did go a little off in Harry's battle with Voldemort, with the ghosts appearing out of the wands, but it was short and so not too disastrous.
Rupert Grint and Emma Watson performed brilliantly, both showing off the skills they have picked up through the years. With any luck they have long careers in front of them, they deserve it. There will be plenty of people who denounce poor Daniel Radcliffe once again (though I'm sure there will be those who praise him too). There were some scenes certainly, where I stood back and went 'nah', but for the most part he has done as well as his counter parts in developing his talent and he certainly as a good handle on the character. It is fairly impressive when you keep in mind that he has a lot of weight to carry around as the lead actor. So kudos to all our young stars - can't wait to see you in OotP!
Good movie. A very good movie, and if the general progression is anything to go on I'll expect a cracker in the next one!