Excellent movie, if you forget the book

Rating: 8/10 (14 July 2007)

This is an excellent movie with excellent action scenes, excellent visual effects and a simply marvelous cast.
The casting of Evanna Lynch, Helena Carter and Imelda Staunton for the roles of Luna , Bellatrix and Umbridge was a brilliant idea. They suited their roles very well. The mannerisms portrayed by Evanna Lynch were very much Luna. A certain level of maturity of the characters which was expected in this book can be clearly seen in the cast. The visual effect were very well done. The thestrals were portrayed very excellently. They have a certain eerie, yet peaceful air about them.
The main problem of the movie is that there are many differences in the plot of the movie and of the book, but if you put that apart and look at the movie on its own, its quite a piece of art. I also strongly feel Daniel Radcliffe has hogged the limelight a bit and not much screen time has been given to the other characters. But then this is the longest book and it has been compacted into the shortest movie, you are bound to loose the details.
But even though the plot has been modified, the storyline flows very smoothly and even non-readers can get quite a approximate grasp on the story. This is a feature which I have liked a lot about this series from the very beginning - reaching out to the non-reader.
My advice is :If you like Harry Potter, then go watch movie without fail and if you LOVE Harry Potter, watch it with some caution, for you will be in for some major disappointment as the plot is twisted beyond recognition.
I give : 8/10