Great Book, Good Movie

Rating: 8/10 (23 June 2004)

NO SPOILERS
I read this book and saw the movie knowing full well if they couldn't fit everything from the other books into those movies they CERTIANLY wouldn't be able to fit the book into a two or three hour film. Generally I think they did well, I do worry however about their ability to continue to do the movies if they continually leave out "small" things in the movie that come back to be "big" things later.
Casting is, as it was for the others, near perfect. When I read the books the characters look almost to a tee like the actors. The acting is good, Gary Oldman and the actor who plays Lupin do an especially good job. Buckbeak is better than I would have expected as is most of the magic effects. The patronus is the exception here and in general I thought that was lousy. All in all above my expectations but below the standard of the book.