Hated it, hated the Director & most importantly hated the Screenwriter **SPOILER**

Rating: 3/10 (18 July 2007)

Let me start by saying that I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan. I've read all the books, many times, and watched every film with baited breathe. This was my least favorite movie, but not only that, I truly hated it! **Please excuse my spelling of the names, I am writing fast and have no time to check**
This was a terrible rendition! It FELT long and yet they raced through the important things like the prophecy for example. People who don't follow the books don't understand just how important this prophecy is, the entire series revolves around it! We don't learn it was Trelawney who predicted it, we don't learn that Snape overheard it and ran to Voldemort which is what got Harry's parents killed. I mean, am I wrong? This is important!
I also think that it was a very bad move to speed through the beginning of the film. Sure we see Harry's depressed, but how is that different from any summer with the Dursleys?? We don't get the full feeling of alienation that Harry feels with being ignored by Dumbledore, left out of the loop and then having Hermoine and Ron become prefects and him not! He is completely and utterly alone, and we don't see that really. Are we supposed to accept the two line conversation exchanged he has with Ron and Hermoine? (HP "You couldn't have put that in a letter?" R&H "Dumbledore made us promise not to."
Some other small notes: -We don't get introduced to Sirius' mom, the painting, which could have allowed for a little comic relief. -As would have the scene with the lot trying to climb onto animals they can't see! (Thestrals?) -In fact, that whole scene gave me whiplash! On campus-On Thestrals-Phone booth-Department of Mysteries. I mean, jeez! -We barely saw anyone we liked; Prof. McGonagall is in it just a couple of brief times as is Dumbledore, Hagrid, Lupin and Sirius. All we got was Umbridge which did NOT give us the comic relief they clearly tried to give us. -No mention of H&R being prefects, as well as Malfoy. And in fact, Malfoy was barely in it! His discourse with HP team is good, why didn't we have more? -When Sirius died, it isn't even clear that it's what's happened. There is no explanation of the arch so why would we assume that arch=death? Incidentally, very convenient that the group "fell" into the room with the arch!
I know there was way more I had to say, but I wanted to take a few days to let myself reflect. I am very disappointed. I didn't like the director and I hated the screenplay. I am so happy that they got Steve Kloves to write the HBP screenplay, because I may have not watched it otherwise. He may not have been perfect but a 10 compared to Goldenberg. I am very upset that we have to watch David Yates take another attempt at directing in HBP, praying that he doesn't butcher that one as well (Note to Yates: fire your editor!). I was really looking forward to this movie, they killed my summer. It is the first HP film that I will only watch once and will not buy the DVD.