One HP (series, not movies) fan who thinks it was a good adaptation

Rating: 8/10 (14 July 2007)

I have never been compelled to comment, but I'm actually angry over this. People need to relax. Yes, there are many wonderful moments in the book that obviously made the plot richer, the characters more endearing and just in general ADDED to the magic of the book. Yes, the movie was choppy and a bit discombobulated at times. However, you can't want a slower paced movie AND more details.
I thought it captured the spirit of the book. The book WAS choppy at times; there was no real central story as in Goblet of Fire with the Tournament. It was a lot of setup, but this is hard to convey in a movie and, frankly, boring. Scenes were definitely left out, but when I think about it, they weren't absolutely essential. And I actually liked the changes they did implement to capture the essence of what needed to be conveyed. To follow the book in some of these cases would have been too complicated, detract from the movie, and only satisfy die-hard fans. it wouldn't have been added magic. It would be confusion.
******SPOILERS (esp for series readers) *********
Ron and Hermione weren't prefects - It would have taken extra time to explain/mention and then more time taken away from them trying to be there and help Harry. It was already adequately portrayed that Harry felt different and the two didn't recognized this and didn't know how to help him.
Harry is not Quidditch captain - this is not essential to the plot. It's just for fun.
St. Mungo's - I was disappointed, but I guess the point was just, look, Harry can "see" what Voldemort is doing. It was rushed and a bit poorly done, but not enough so that it justifies a whole scene, which would probably detract from the movie.
Fred and George's finale - yes, disppointing. I definitely wanted to see the marsh, but I guess they thought it was simpler this way. I think if anything should have been added it would be Umbridge asking teachers for help and the teachers refusing. "They don't have the power to do so."
Last Battle - Weird, I did expect the different rooms, but the point was the prophecy, Voldemort tricking Harry, the DA holding their own, and Sirius dying. I thought the subtlety that Sirius treated Harry as James was hard to convey; especially since watchers may not remember he's wanted/can't show his face in public/etc. The imp't point was that Sirius and Harry had a bond. And they played that.
I actually liked how Neville quietly confessed to Harry. It held the same poignancy and depth to Neville as in the book. I wish he could have fought Bellatrix, but oh well.
PLUS, I did enjoy the small things added in there for the super fans (like me). It was a compliment and gift to us, I thought.
While I'm rambling, just for the record, thank god Steve Kloves did not write. I thought his writing was wooden and horrendous and contrived. You can't just copy one liners from the book and paste them together. This one conveyed the personalities of the characters adequately for viewers and with slightly more subtlety for fans. And for those who liked POA. I thought that was a GREAT deviation from the plot that didn't even make sense. That's just me. Also, Gambon. Awful.
Watch the movie. It's not great, but they did a good job with it. It's hard.