Virtually no interest for non-devotees of the book series.

Rating: 4/10 (12 July 2007)

The action in this movie is completely mechanized and the plot only serves us to move us from point A to point B (more like point A.001, actually) in the Potter saga, unlike in previous films where the plots themselves had arcs of their own and the revelations, such as they were, were actually dramatic.
Characters and plot devices are introduced and not developed at all--Nymphadora Tonks? Do we even learn who the hell she is? Also we get hints of Ginny Weasley's unrequited love for Harry, which contributed nothing to the plot and I assume will never again be revisited.
The only remotely "fun" aspect of the movie was the introduction of Luna Lovegood, who, along with Umbridge's outfits and noises, provides the only comic relief in an otherwise joyless affair.
But does this movie even have to work on its own, or can it be considered a "success" if it puts pretty pictures to the words with which the fans of the books are so familiar? Lynch's _Dune_ was panned for being worthless to the casual viewer. Now I know how those critics felt.