Terrible Adaptation

Rating: 2/10 (18 November 2011)

As a big fan of the books, I found this movie to be quite awful. I understand that the director has to cut parts of the book to make this into a condensed film, and I've made my peace with that. However, this movie seemed rushed and too many important details were left out. Not only that, scenes were added that weren't in the book which didn't add to the movie in any way. I tried to watch this as an unbiased observer, pretending I had never read the book, and that made it worse. If I were a neutral observer, I would say that the characters are not developed enough, and the story was too rushed and sparse of details to give any real clarity as to what was going on. I just got done watching the first two movies, and while the cut scenes annoyed me, I ultimately decided that it was okay. I do not feel this way about Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and I can't believe anybody who hasn't read the books enjoyed this. As much as I cherish the books, I don't feel like this story is easily translated into film, and I think it shows.