its OK, but don't expect too much

Rating: 6/10 (12 July 2007)

Pretty much what you'd expect, I wanted to like it but found it hard to.
It wasn't a bad film and I'm not sure how people who haven't read it will find it, but there's too much cut from the book.
There were quite a few cuts that I didn't miss at all but there was time and space for a few scenes which would have helped move the story along.
Out go the quidditch and st mungos and the giants and most of grimmuld place and most of the climax in the dept of mysteries. And time is spent focusing on the kid's relationships and such. (Apparently). It seemed to be on Harry 95% of the film.
With SO much character development in the book there was always going to be a problem to condense it, but like the last film it moves so fast it feels like a 2 hour long montage and seems to just hint at whats going on while assuming you've probably read it and can fill in the blanks yourself.
I have read it - and I struggled to get into the movie.
It never quite finds its place and just serves as a visual feast for fans.
Some good gags and a lot of missed opportunities, LOTS, and some big continuity errors.