!! SPOILERS !! HP Turned Gothic?

Rating: Null/10 (31 May 2004)

Well, what can i say? Harry Potter had definitely changed thats for sure. The movie has a much darker, more Gothic feel to it. The sunny, pleasant Hogwarts now seems to have turned into a dark, dingy, possibly evil castle, like the one you find in horror movies (not that thats a good thing) - and the clock is waaay freaky - especially that pendulum! I'm sure that violates some health and safety laws. The new Direction is clear - the scene transitions are excellent, the changing of seasons and camera movements work really well, the CGI is good, and i feel the acting has improved. This however is where i feel the good points stop.
I was disappointed several important elements from the book were left out (the broomstick being found earlier, Quidditch Final (!!), Marauders map authors - which would have taken 1 minute to put in and been well worth it) - Also, i was very disappointed with the Stag scene - a Stag was hardly present! This was a major element of the story about Harrys father and was totally cut out! Due to time i feel, maybe they didn't have time to animate a amazing stag smashing through the Dementors. Also, I'm not sure about the new Dumbledore at all - Them hats seem to make him look like he's trying to fashionable, when in reality he's supposed to be a 100year old wizard - and his beard is nowhere near long enough. I feel the ending was rushed, major elements were cut there that were important, such as Sirius' guilt about Harrys parents dying, and the Secret Keeper story.
A good film, but does not do the book justice and changes too many things it makes the last two films look totally different - the whole castle and layout is completely different, including the pathetic whomping willow which is now a small tree.
It reminds me of what Alien Resurrection was to the Alien trilogy.