what's up with this?

Rating: Null/10 (29 June 2004)

I was thoroughly disappointed with Harry Potter 3. They didn't stick to the book at all! This movie missed so many important details and explanations of why things were the way they were. My dad, who has never read the books, said it went straight to the point, but he didn't understand why some things happened. I think one of the things he had trouble with was the time turner. It's hardly played up in the movie and it is one of the most important things because that's what saves the day.
Another thing completely skipped is the whole Crookshanks feud. Sure, there was some mention, but definitely not to the point it's taken in the book. The feud between Ron and Hermione was mostly taken out of the movie, they were even flirting at points! Also, I was beginning to think that the broomstick wasn't even going to be mentioned. The book says that Ron and Hermione weren't even talking for the most part of the story because she had turned in the Firebolt to Professor McGonagal to check for jinxes because Harry receives the broom at Christmas from an unknown person who turns out to be Sirius.
They changed so many things in this movie. Even the set was different! I was completely baffled at why there were so many differences. This movie is so different, it's like it isn't even part of the series. I know they had a new director and a new Dumbledore (I did like this Dumbledore better than the late one) but that is no excuse for veering so far away from the book. One thing that I did like about this movie compared to the others was the pacing of it. 1 & 2, especially 1, was paced so slowly; the actors were slow, the scenes progressed slowly, everything took too long.
This movie is said to be "darker" than the previous. This is no darker than any of the other ones. In fact, I think it's "lighter" that the first two. Harry is not faced with Voldemort, just dementors. And he didn't even face the dementors as much as in the book. This movie missed two more Quidditch games, one against Ravenclaw in which Malfoy and his cronies dress up as dementors. I would have loved to see that. And then the whole game against Slytherin where Griffyndor wins the house cup. The house cup was a big deal in the book.
As long as I'm ranting, none of the beginning was shown. What about Sirius being even on Muggle news, they could have even shown it on the TV in the beginning in the background, but they didn't! And what was up with the practicing magic in the beginning? No magic off of school ground? Come on now, get the story straight, have the characters stop contradicting themselves (it is mentioned there is no magic allowed).
Well, whatever. Make it your own, as they say nowadays, and this director certainly did.