I have to admit, as an AVID READER, this movie was not that great...

Rating: 6/10 (4 June 2004)

Now, don't get me wrong, it wasn't terrible, there were some cool scenes, but the director altered it SO MUCH, not only from the book, but from the other freaking films. I mean, the landscape of Hogwarts looks like the result of a devastating mudslide based on how much it has changed. It really is noticeable. There are also so many minor alterations from the book that seemed out of place. For example, what the heck was with the talking head on the Knight Bus? That was just dumb. Also, the pace of the entire time they were at school seemed like it went all too quickly and it was rushed. The pace was really off and they never really had an ending to the SCHOOL, just an ending of Harry's adventure/quest.
But, there were some good things about the movie, like the Bogart scene for example. Also, Gary Oldman did an excellent job in the small role he had. BUT FINALLY, and most importantly, the feud between Malfoy and Potter has just gone too goddamn far. I mean it is so cheesy, and so corny to a point of feeling uncomfortable watching it. Every time they meet it is like a showdown. They throw out some insults, Malfoy's friends chuckling at his "clever" remarks, and Harry's friends stick up for him. In the book it doesn't nearly seem that ridiculous, possibly (and probably) because it is written, not acted out. But I do cut the scene some slack, for two reasons. The first reason is the director is working with inexperienced kid actors. The second reason is that I myself can't imagine them doing it any better ON SCREEN (perhaps they could tone it down and make it more discreet, that is about it). Now, all in all, it was about a 6.5 out of 10. I liked the movie, but from a movie-making point of view, it wasn't that great. The reason, after all of this criticism and negative remarks about the film, that I gave it a high score (in terms of ratings) was that these flaws didn't bother me that much, but they were evident. Now, I can see why someone who is bothered by these flaws and inconsistencies would despise the movie, and I can see why someone who isn't bothered by these flaws and inconsistencies would adore this movie. This was a fun review to write.