Well, I hate to say it, but this is the wost Potter flick so far

Rating: 8/10 (17 July 2007)

It's here! It's here! With the long awaited book #7 on the verge of release, Harry Potter mania is at frenzy level and this has transferred over to the newest movie, which is based on book #5. It may be the adolescent girl in me, but I am a Potter fan. I have read all the books (okay, okay, yes, more than once) and book 5 is my favorite so far, so my expectations may have been a tad high going into this one, but this is the worst Potter movie effort thus far. Although, still an enjoyable film, the editor's knife was a little sharp here. Although, it is already just over two hours, this is the longest Potter book and has been made into the shortest Potter movie. The result is short, almost choppy scenes that seem more suited to the trailer than the main feature. If Yates had put in another half hour or so, this effect may have been eliminated. The story is good, however, and the young cast is improving. The effects are good but also missing are the slow tacking shots that gave Hogwarts much of its wonder.
Harry, Hermione and Ron are all back and times at Hogwarts are hard. The Ministry For Magic is denying the return of evil incarnate, Lord Voldemort, and is out to discredit both Harry and Dumbledore who is played rather emotionally by Michael Gambon, who plays him like he has never read the Potter books. The Adult characters have formed a secret society (The Order of The Phoenix) to combat the Death Eaters, while Harry and friends prepare to defend themselves in these dangerous times and battle against the new ministry-approved Hogwarts presence, Delores Umbridge (played very well by Staunton), by forming a secret defense against the dark arts club. The characters are getting older and teenage romance is here, as well. Yates tries to make up for compressing a long novel into a movie through use of montages and short, quickly cut scenes. This hurts the end product, but it is difficult for me to gage how this affects non-Potter readers' ability to follow the story.
Potter fans will flock to this film, of course, and enjoy seeing the book brought to life on the big screen. The story here is darker and more about conflict than mystery. The growing numbers of characters compete for screen time, but it's still an entry in a top-notch fantasy adventure series. I'm sure that many of the legions of Potter fans will take issue with any criticism and I certainly have been critical here. Perhaps, this review has turned out harsher than I intended. This is still a good movie, I just can't help thinking how much better it could have been.
(This work first posted on realmoviereview.com)