A Taste of Things To Come....?

Rating: 7/10 (29 July 2007)

This was a movie that had the odds stacked against it from the off. Consider the evidence:- 1) It had to repeat the all out action of The Goblet of Fire and 2) had to be successfully adapted from J.K.Rowling's wordiest and character driven book to date. The book is a wash-up from the last as it explores new characters and develops current ones whilst highlighting the rise of Lord Voldemort. The film is good overall as the pace is just about right, although it's just a pity that there was no meaty characterisation for the actors to get their teeth into. Daniel Radcliffe plays Harry well and brings the angst, compassion and dare that have made the books so popular. The other more seasoned actors (Gary Oldman, Ralph Fiennes etc) seem to relish their roles also, however, due to the cutting down of the source material (for the sake of cinema), they are somewhat underused. To sum up- an enjoyable slice of entertainment but readers of the book will feel slightly short changed. Having said that the movie sets things up rather nicely for the last two instalments in the Potter saga.