Be a movie, or be a book. Not this half-assed thing.

Rating: 6/10 (11 June 2004)

Effects are amazing, it's a fun spectacle.
That being said: Yes, it's a freaking huge book, and there's absolutely no way to get the whole thing into the movie. But the choices they made... Fans of the book will be disappointed by the crucial plot elements that get left out, and people who've never read the book will have no idea what the hell is going on. But if the critics are any indication, people who like auteur directors apaprently will not care that this movie has plot holes you could drive the Hogwarts Express through.
For example, if you haven't read the book and you've seen this, you might be asking:
How does Lupin recognize the map? Who are Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs? What the hell was that stag thing I saw for 2 seconds? What just happened?
Obviously, I'm a dork fan of the book, but when I see a movie adaptation I don't expect the book. I expect a movie that can stand alone, have a coherent plot and fleshed-out characters. I'd rather they cut out even more plot elements from the book, which became meaningless in the jumble of events here anyway, and devoted more time to developing the few things that were left, like the characters and relationships. And that freeze frame -- just... don't.