Missing it's magic. But not a total wash.

Rating: 6/10 (11 July 2005)

Well clearly Richard Harris is to be totally missed. He came across as a more sincere Albus. Michael Gambon is good at one thing. Being a bad guy. I can't trust Albus now. Not totally. Now not that Michael isn't a good actor. He's very good when he plays less than goodie tushu characters. He's perfect in Open Range. And not that Richard Harris never played bad guys. But Richard was a far better actor. He was convincing at a bad or good guy. I just can't help but wonder if there could have been a better choice. I suppose Ian Mckellen was taken. But the similarities in Potter 3 to LOTR are matched in more than just actors. So he could have been a great albus. I can't believe how much their ghosts/guards... whatever look like LOTR's Ring Wraiths. No creativity here. Certainly the CGI has massively improved here, but so much so they may have forgotten the characters themselves. I'm not gonna go on a blistering attack on the movie. It's hardly a letdown. But I'm not gonna swoon over it like the first two films. I just hope they get their act together. Because Potter 3 is missing the fun. Wonder if Chris Columbus will ever come back. It was good to see Gary Oldman again. I don't see him in many films of the type he did in the 90's. And he's hardly recognizable in Hannibal. I hope they keep the original 3 friend cast together till the end though. Although I'd hate to be growing up like that.
6/10
Quality: 6/10 Entertainment: 6/10 Replayable: 9/10