If your head spins when you see HP 5, don't worry, it's not just you.

Rating: 3/10 (31 July 2008)

To be honest I didn't have very high hopes for this film. However, that kind of situation can usually allow for one to be impressed. This, however, was not the case.
To say that it may have been the most difficult book of the seven to put to screen is really not that much of an understatement. It is by far the longest, and had the most going on throughout the book, with the Ministry turning into a full-blown cover-up organization and Harry and co. just trying to survive the bashing of Harry in the tabloids. Cue the worst possible script imaginable.
I can't be nice about this. I watched this movie by myself, which means I wasn't going to be influenced by friends or family. That said, this movie was ridiculous (and not in a good way). I felt like the movie was on light speed. It blew by from plot point to plot point to plot point so quickly that half the characters received the most minimal of screen time, including Alan Rickman's Snape, who looked shocked every time he actually got to say something, as half of his screen time involved no speaking, just standing around. Sirius was even further abused. He would look longingly at Harry as though he wished he had time amongst the cascades of events in the movie to just talk to him. Pathetic. Then, as if it couldn't GET ANY WORSE, Ginny is not even in the movie. I've watched it twice now, but she's not even present for any kind of role at all outside of her sitting at the table in the Weasley's house. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't the future WIFE of Harry Potter get a little more CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT than that?!
Well, typically, the answer would be yes, but character development was at an all-time low in this one, as the ENTIRE chapter on the O.W.L.'s which was very tense and interesting, was replaced with one exam seen, proctored by Umbridge and spruced up with some unimpressive CGI mischief. In addition, as the characters moved from event to event to event, they always seemed to be out of breath, and I couldn't tell if it was from all the running they were constantly doing or the breakneck pace of the movie. Everyone just kind of popped up to ask what was going on or, in the case of several characters, including Sirius, who had been my all-time favorite character in the series, just as enemy fodder. To me, every character in this movie felt like a throwaway, and when your movie is full of garbage, the best it can be is a garbage can.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of people who just liked the movie because it looks good. However, I'm not simply drawn to shiny things, I need some actual substance in my movies, so for me, this is honestly one of the worst movies ever made.