It could have been much better....

Rating: Null/10 (5 June 2004)

Finally I have found reviews that share my view! What a relief.
When I saw the movie I enjoyed it but at times I was going hold on - that didn't happen like that - what happened to that? When the movie director takes liberties with the books it doesn't flow properly and even in the midst of Harry's world you feel lost at times.
I agree this film script was a butchered version of the book. No question at all that the book is better. With the two previous films I felt nothing was missing even though they edited and made changes. The difference was they stayed as true to the book as they could. This movie instead of using dialog often uses blank screens to segue from scene to scene. It is very
disjointed even if you have read the book.
Lets keep in mind that most people who go to see this film are HP fans and want to see a visual version of the book. While this film maintained core issues of the book much of the magic was lost in the film.
Other changes in the set of Hogwarts were unnecessary as well like moving Hagrids cabin.
Thank you to all the others who posted their reviews here as I know I am not alone in being disappointed in this film. In my view you are right on the money and I sure hope someone out there (new director Mike Newell) is listening!! I do not want a repeat of this for the 4th movie which is my favorite book.