Worst of the series so far

Rating: 4/10 (19 July 2007)

I've seen this movie twice, and neither time was I impressed. I like it simply because it's a Harry Potter movie and I'm a Harry Potter fan, but at the same time it is my least favorite out of all five in the series so far.
Of course there were things left out of the movie - it is, after all, the longest book and the shortest movie, so of course they couldn't cram everything into 2 hours and 15 minutes. But what about Hermione and SPEW and the house elves? What about Ron's spot on the Quidditch team (actually, Quidditch wasn't even mentioned in this movie)? What about the fact that the prophecy could have been talking about Harry or Neville? In leaving things out, Yates (the director) has left out important information, has failed to explain things properly (especially to people who have not read the books), and has demoted Ron and Hermione from main characters to mere sidekicks.
This movie has transition scenes, at least, which is more than I can say for the Goblet of Fire. Yet it seems to rush through things, and has poor character portrayal (by the younger actors, at least) and no set mood (comedy? drama? who knows). Throughout the movie, I felt as if Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and their friends were merely a bunch of actors on a stage instead of Harry, Ron, Hermione and the gang. I felt nothing towards any of them; even during the scene in the Department of Mysteries where Sirius falls through the veil, I felt as detached as if I were watching ants on an ant farm. And ironically, I thought Luna Lovegood's character was better than even Harry's.