Best movie adaptation of a Potter book

Rating: 10/10 (21 July 2007)

In my opinion, this is the best movie adaptation of the Potter books. I enjoyed seeing the visuals that I could only picture in my head while reading the book. The battle at the department of mysteries was choreographed really well and I really enjoyed seeing the DA in training as well as the old picture of the members of the Order. The portrayal of the dementors attack at the beginning of the story was so much darker than I imagined. I'm so glad we had a brief glimpse of Kreature. I just wished Jim Dale did the voice over. He is amazing in the audiobook. I never expected the movie to be able to retain all the details in the book, but I wish we had more of the Weasly twin pranks and were able to see more details about James Potter's torment of Snape. The movie also failed to explain the reason why Harry was lured into the department of mysteries ***warning spoilers*** as only the subject of a prophecy can retrieve the record. Noteworthy was Daniel Radcliff's acting. He really matured as an actor in this movie. The actress playing Luna was outstanding, she really brought her to life, with so much softness and so much humanity. Gary Oldman did a real moving portrayal of Sirius Black and dominated every scene he was in. This actor has an amazing ability to express so many emotions without saying a word. When he got hit with the Ava Kedavra curse, I made a loud gasp, even though I knew it was coming. The look on his face was a mixture of surprise, sadness, fear and love for Harry. He is just an outstanding actor. Helena Bonham Carter was born to play Bellatrix Lestrange with her evil laughter and her piercing eyes. Snape appeared much nicer than he is portrayed in the book and we do not see Lilly Evans defending him like in the book. Finally, the lady who played Umbridge was phenomenal. I know she got an Oscar for Vera Drake, but she certainly deserves one for this movie. She delivered an unbelievable performance as the sadistic, manipulative and cunning bureaucrat that sucks the joy out of life. We also never learn that she sent the dementors against Harry in the summer. My only disappointment is that the fountain statues did not come to life like in the book.
I cannot wait for book 6 to be made into a movie. I wonder who will play Slughorn. Can't wait.