Could this be the worst book-to-film translation ever?

Rating: 6/10 (9 June 2004)

Could it be?
This is so far from the source material that you must ask yourself what happened. Someone in the long order of crewpeople involved with this film must've gotten something terribly wrong for it to turn into this. Sure the main plot and all the most important scenes are there, but the end product here feels like a film where they've taken parts from one half of the book, placed it in the wrong order and then thrown in a little action from the other half of the book. I'm sure most of you agree with this? At least those of you that read the book. Some short 20 minutes or so into the film we're already more than halfway through the book and many key scenes have been dropped. And what's with the ending? Are they serious? This is from the middle of the book if I don't remember something completely wrong here, and the fact that they actually skipped almost everything quidditch, which is one of the most beloved ingredients of the Harry Potter books puzzles me. This is something that will disappoint a lot of children during the week.
Don't get me wrong. I DO understand that sometimes drastic measures has to be taken in order for the film version of a book to not be overly long. I also understand that some scenes that are less important has to be thrown out and other scenes altered or sized up. However, it has been done far better before, and I just can't help that the disappointment feels more bitter that ever before. I sure hope Columbus is back for the next one. I want the MAGIC!