Fun, but fell short of expectations

Rating: 8/10 (15 July 2007)

This latest Harry Potter extravaganza fell a little short of my expectations. Why was Harry so mad at the world? Why were the Weasleys in Sirius Black's house? What exactly were David Thewlis, Emma Thompson or Helena Bonham Carter doing in the film? Fortunately for me the movie came out two years after the book so the facts were a bit fuzzy and I didn't care. The movie wowed with excellent special effects, great acting by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Gary Oldman and the Dumbledore character.. But all along the telling of the tale I was not completely engaged - there was some key ingredient missing. It was almost as if this one was just a filler until the next installment. All in all it was an afternoon well spent to keep me up to date on the story and gave me incentive to buy the next book.