Not the worst film ever, but close.

Rating: 2/10 (29 July 2008)

Although the actors all did very well (I was quite pleased to see the excellent Carter in the role of Bellatrix) in all, I was very disappointed with the movie and it actually makes me not really care about the next, unless it gets some really amazing reviews. I'm a big fan of the books, of course, and although I realise that movies can not completely duplicate printed works, I was incredibly disappointed by this one. I don't know if it was stupidity on the part of the director or if it was just laziness, but even someone clueless about the film industry can tell what parts of the book have the potential to be legendary on film. For example, Dumbledore blasting the heck out of the ministry trying to defend himself would have added quite a notch to Gambon's belt. The twins' famous exit from Hogwarts (a part in the book that encouraged the reader to repeat it over and over just for those pages) could have been one of the most hilarious and glittery part of the whole series to date. Most importantly, the climax of the movie, the raid on the Ministry of Magic and the subsequent battles, could have been absolutely stunning. Instead, we are given one room with a doorway and some ripped up cloth. Goodness, even the book jacket was more vivid and exciting than the climax of this movie. Then we are given an out-of-character Dumbledore battling Voldemort in an empty hallway. The whole beauty of Rowling's books is the sheer imagination that went into this series, and all the film has to offer is a couple of empty rooms? What happened to the spinning rooms, the brains, the hummingbird, the smashed cabinet, and all those other magical items? And what about Harry's little speech to Voldemort in the film which runs something along the lines of, "You can't win because I have friends!"? I don't know what hack wrote the script for that one, but as far as dramatic moments go that one pretty much fails as it just made members of the audience stifle laughter. There were some "ooh, aah" moments, but it wasn't nearly enough to save this movie. What should have been the masterpiece so far became a laughingstock. Had the director added 45 minutes and actually read the book, it would have been said masterpiece. Even just an extended version of the final battles would have made it more impressive (though it would not have saved it) because at least people would have left the theater feeling satisfied that there was at least a climax in the story. This is a movie I will not even purchase, and such a disappointment that I have lost all desire to see the next movie since it is directed by the same guy. One would think that having been handed such a vivid story, the director would find it hard to screw it up. Boy, I sure hope you don't screw the next one up.