A "Cliff Notes" version of the book

Rating: 6/10 (11 July 2007)

I've been eagerly awaiting this episode, thinking it was going to be much more action-packed or incorporating some of the more juicy bits of narrative from the over-800 page book. I ought to have known going in that, at 2:18 running time, the movie was too short. Even considering the tweaking that needed to be done to incorporate information differently than the book presents it (like by-passing the house elves storyline), at least a half-hour more could've been left in to really build up the story. The scenes we do see are well acted, there are obvious clues alluding to the final installment, and the special effects are dazzling. But one leaves the theater breathless and disoriented as if one ate a rich meal too quickly. Especially exasperating considering we had to sit through 20 minutes of TV commercials and coming attractions--I would've paid extra to see another 20 minutes of movie instead.