Excellent but 'different'

Rating: 9/10 (20 January 2007)

I've now watched the film several times, and although a number of the scenes are different to those in the book, they certainly do not spoil the enjoyment of the film. The different slant on the way the maze was done, and the extra added scenes (the dance lesson with McGonagall and Ron is particularly good - I think Rupert Grint has a real future in comedic roles) were great. The three main actors are definitely growing into their roles, and the speculation after the first couple of films, as to whether they would not stay to do all seven, is proving to be false. I'm glad, as I would now find it hard to imagine anyone else in the roles! The only disappointments for me were the lack of Quidditch World Cup action, and that some of the characters from the book (Ludo Bagman, Amos Diggory) were either completely different from how they were described, or missing completely. My one hope now is that, like the LoTR trilogy, that they think about releasing a 'director's cut' version of each of the films, as they must have LOADS of extra scenes!