Not the best of the 4 movies

Rating: 3/10 (13 January 2007)

***may contain spoilers*** I must say that I was rather disappointed with this film. This is my favorite book out of the series, and I was expecting the movie to be as well. I might have been expecting too much, but I just didn't like the movie very much.
I'll start off with what I liked. I thought the time turner was done very well. It was a hard thing to do to show people going back in time, and I thought Alfonso did I good job with that. I also thought he did a wonderful job with Buckbeak. He was done very well, and he looked very realistic as well.
Now to what I didn't like. I will start by saying that I thought the movie was rushed. I think they didn't want the movie to be very long so they could add more to the time turner and revealing who Sirius and Wormtail really are. But it ruined the movie. I thought the acting wasn't done very well in this movie, and I don't blame the actors. The actors can only do as well as they can with the directions they are given by their director. Harry crying after he found out Sirius was his Godfather was laughable. It didn't sound realistic, and he didn't look at all sad. I didn't feel any amount of pathos for Harry. I actually laughed because of how fake his crying sounded.
I found that the numerous scenes with Lupin were unnecessary. They could have showed the relationship between Lupin and Harry a better way than only walks. I also didn't really like the way Harry learned the patronus, but it didn't bother me too much. I didn't like how Harry fell off of his broom during the Quidditch match.
Throughout the movie, I didn't get the magical feeling Hogwarts possessed during the 1st and 2nd and even the 4th film. It also didn't feel like the year was progressing. Showing the tree changing seasons was clever, but it didn't make the year feel like it was passing. Harry getting the broom at the end didn't seem very logical because they made it seem like it was the end of the year, and then they're still talking about the Quidditch cup being theirs. Another thing I didn't like was Oliver Wood and Gryffindor not winning the Cup being cut out. I know they can't add everything into a movie, but this was Oliver's big year.
One thing that I honestly can't stand is that they didn't mention who the Marauders were. That is a crucial part for Harry since he finds out more about his father, and who his father is. We hear some much about Lily that we wonder about James. This was one of those key character pieces. They could have easily added onto the end a few more minutes about Harry finding out from Lupin that him, James, Sirius, and Wormtail had created the map.
Overall, I didn't find this movie very satisfying. Alfonso seemed to focus more on humor than on the darkness and seriousness of the film. Alfonso did an OK job at staying on the main plot and theme, but he could have stayed more on track. I don't think they ever explain thoroughly the relationship Sirius, James, Lupin, and Wormtail had.