7 out of 10, but for Harry Potter fans only

Rating: 7/10 (19 August 2007)

I'm giving this a 7 out of 10, and that is generous - and I do this to say that Harry Potter fans will need to see this (I assume they will see all the films) but others (casual fans, people who are just looking for a random film to see) will not understand nor like this film.
I will second what most of the critical pans of this film say, and that's that a lot of the book's important plot and themes were glossed over in favor of trying to cover too much in too little time. Even at 2:40, the movie definitely dragged, and yet they try to capture key plot points in 5 seconds at best. It seemed that they filmed a lot more than was shown, and edited out everything that seemed not 100% necessary to explain what was happening. However, adding a line here or there COULD have explained enough to the casual fan. For example, why not say that the Weasley Twins decided to quit school and go into business? That's one line of dialogue - and it would help explain why they would risk expulsion by flying through the OWL exam room making fireworks.
In the book, Harry getting kicked out of Hogwarts was a BIG DEAL. That's his ENTIRE LIFE - yes, it's a big deal. In the film, he's mildly upset, and quickly gets voted back in. In the book, Umbridge takes each teacher, one by one, to task and humiliates them in front of their own classes. In the film, she speaks one line in each class, and we're supposed to see that as bad behavior.
Very disappointing. How Yates gets the next HP movie before this one was even released is beyond me. Perhaps he learned something from this one, however, and the next one will be better.