Even my evil physics teacher never thought of quite such a cruel way for someone to do their punishment lines....

Rating: 7/10 (26 February 2020)

"Harry" has an extra-curricular experience with a "Dementor" which draws the attention of the newly rejuvenated Ministry of Magic and after a show trial in which he is ably defended by "Prof. Dumbledore" our trio return to a school that is all but under martial law. A new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher (a rather Margaret Thatcher-esque Imelda Staunton) is taking over the school by degree, imposing strict rules that merely serve to encourage the pupils to go underground to learn the more practical skills that will be needed if they are ever to face and defeat the evil "Voldemort". All of the characters from the previous stories are now knitting together much better; I still miss Richard Harris as "Dumbledore" but Stauton is as magnificently evil as Emma Thompson is wonderfully pathetic and we have a cracking battle at the end. Our wizards are now fully cognisant of the dangers they face and have a much clearer idea of the enemy, too. David Yates does better, I think, in condensing this super-long novel into one film; again a two-parter would probably have done better justice to the detail and nuances of the JK Rowling story; but we get more than enough of the gist of the story to make do. Great stuff.