Entertaining, But Mostly Forgettable (and Poor 3D Sequence)

Rating: 6/10 (26 July 2007)

This is one of the better Harry Potter films, but as with all of them (and particularly with the length and detail of book 5), a lot gets left out. Overall, this film was entertaining, but mostly forgettable.
Part of the problem with all of the films is the uneven acting performance quality. Here, Daniel Radcliffe mostly stands around reacting, and not particularly well. The girl playing Hermione also suffers from being a bit stiff. The more noteworthy performances come from the naturalness in the character portrayal of Ron Weasley, the Luna Lovegood actress, Maggie Smith's character (as usual) and the actress playing Delores Umbridge. There are a few others, too, but this is not, overall, great ensemble acting. Yes, there are the few great acting turns (I think of Kenneth Branagh's in one of the earlier ones), but the very fine performances make the mediocre ones (and the unevenness overall) really stand out.
I saw this in IMAX with the 3D presentation during the climactic scenes. The art direction, here, was overall SO busy that it was difficult to follow. I occasionally took off my 3D glasses and, even through the blurriness of the double image, it was easier to follow the action without the glasses. I have seen many films in IMAX, and the 70mm print and great quality soundtrack often make the premium admission price worthwhile. I think I would recommend going to see this one in a traditional theater in order to avoid the 3D.
All in all, I enjoyed this one quite a bit while watching it, but like the others, it became forgettable shortly after the end credits started running.
Personally, while I realize that there are going to be many who want loyal adherence to the plot of the book, I'd like a director to take some real chances and reinvent the story to really create something fresh for the screen so that the film can really stand alone on its own merits.