Entertaining but fails the book

Rating: 7/10 (11 July 2007)

I just went to watch the latest Harry Potter installment with my son. To start with the end (in more than one sense) my son was almost fuming at it. Having read the whole thing a few (several?) times he was very mindful of all the things that changed from the book, but the ending is what upset him the most and from then I started thinking on the whole ordeal. Saying that a movie wasn't faithful to a book is normally stating the obvious and in this case while the main events from the book are there a good part of the spirit of the book died at the hands of the script writer and the director. Don't get me wrong I don't think the movie was a disaster (like that pathetic attempt of a movie called Eragon) but all the teen angst that overflows the 5th book is almost completely absent; is like the anger of a 15 y/o had been shrunk to a 9 y/o's size, and to complete the coup the very last scene is so cheesy that seems copied from a 80's TV series. The book is dark and the movie barely tries, which is perhaps what upset my son so much more than the scissors that made the 2'18" movie possible.
Apart from that, the movie is technically well crafted and quite entertaining. Imelda Stauton does a great job as Dolores Umbridge forcing you to hate her from the very first time you see her on the movie. The combat at the ministry is visually well done although it doesn't fully show the hectic scene portrayed in the book. All in all it would seem that someone tried to make the movie PG (and failed BTW) and in the process the story loses some of its potency. Pity.