A job well done

Rating: 10/10 (21 November 2005)

I was a bit worried with so much missing from the movie, that this would not live up to the Harry Potter name. I was mistaken. Although yes, it is true, there is no Mrs. Weasley, The Dursleys, Dobby or Winky, and even the introduction of the older Weasly boys, Director Mike Newell did the best job possible with the limited time he had. The effects were great, as expected, and the movie flowed very well. The movie could have been longer just because it really didn't feel like a 2 hour and 20 minutes movie. One thing I greatly enjoyed was that someone finally got the idea of Fred and George. They screen time must have doubled from the first three movies combined. A lot of funny moments and Fred and George were a part of them all. It's just too bad they didn't have Percy in there as I would have loved to see Fred and George cut him down as they do in the books and movies past. All the main scenes from the book was pretty much done to form. Ralph Fiennes nailed the performance of Lord Voldemort and I would not be surprised to hear a buzz start with Brendan Gleeson being nominated for an Oscar as Mad Eye Moody. Miranda Richardson caps off the great performances with her portrayal of Rita Skeeter. If I had to make a complaint, the only one it might be is that Rupert Grint was hard to understand at times, however, it was only in very small doses. It is fine to take children under 13, although there is your standard violence, but nothing compared to Lord of the Rings. There are a couple of deaths, but only one is shown and it is not bad. A little flirtation, like when Moaning Myrtle is floating around as Harry is taking a bath, but the little hinted jokes really won't be noticeable to kids. Only other "iffy" issue when it comes to sexuality, oh, maybe Hagrid in his slow dance with Madame Maxime, but if you can't handle a butt grab, you probably didn't plan on seeing the movie anyway. Oh, and a lot of people were confused by Neville Longbottom being upset as he saw a spider creature get tortured. It is brought up in the pensieve that Barty Crouch Jr. tortured his parents, but a lot people didn't put the two together. Enjoy!