Not a life-changing experience

Rating: 7/10 (20 July 2007)

I have to admit, this movie wasn't the best I've seen. I can't believe I'm saying that about a Harry Potter film because I am a fan of the books and films. The main reason why this film isn't so good and the reason why the more recent films seem to be going downhill is simply because they are trying to take 600-800 pages of story and put them into a 2-3 hour movie. It just can't be done. They have to touch on all of the essential stuff for the series in that 2-3 hours and leave out certain other details. I really think that the ending sequence at the Ministry of Magic went way too fast, and Voldemort's entrance was far less dramatic than in the fourth film. However, this film does have quite a few bright spots. Many of the actors provide great performances. Daniel, Rupert and Emma all did very well, as usual as did Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith and Emma Thompson (Prof. Trelawney). Now, as for the new faces, Evanna Lynch played Luna Lovegood very well right down to her voice as J.K. Rowling had described in the book. It was as if she was Luna Lovegood. I almost stood up and cheered when Grawp picked up Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) and when the centaurs carried her away. Imelda Staunton did a magnificent job bringing to life the very evil character that was Dolores Umbridge. I knew from when I first saw her in the scene from Harry's hearing about underage magic that I was going to really hate this character. A well done for Imelda Staunton. As for Helena Bonham Carter playing Bellatrix Lestrange, wonderfully evil. She portrayed Bellatrix with the utmost precision, and she seemed to take a few liberties as well, but they went very well with her character. Yes, there were quite a few good performances in this film and many of the special effects were very well done. I have never EVER seen an entire building expand. That was a really neat effect pretty much hearkening back to the effect of the appearance of the doorway into Diagon Alley in the first film. The battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort was another triumph of special effects and acting. While this film wasn't quite as good story wise, it certainly did well enough for a 7 out of 10 stars from me.