great movie, closer in spirit to the books

Rating: 9/10 (12 July 2007)

The fifth installment in the Harry Potter movies is a satisfying retelling of it's book counterpart. What most impressed me was just how much the cast has grown as actors. All of the main characters have improved dramatically and the newcomers, such as Beatrice Lestrange, were all well chosen for their roles. There is also enough new content to hold the interest of those who have read the book many times over. The new content also succeeds in advancing the story and filling in holes created by missing story elements (elements that were present in the books). I was also really impressed with the way the movie treats the character of Dolores Umbridge, I was nervous that she would appear too silly in the movie, but she is really well done. All in all, my favorite Harry Potter movie so far!