How could they possibly think they could make this into a good movie?

Rating: 4/10 (25 November 2001)

This movie was lacking something. If I think hard enough, I bet I'll remember... Oh, yes, it's lacking exactly what its book counterpart had. Imagination. The book was really good; however, the movie... well, you can see that I gave it a 4. The movie's climax was awful. It was almost as if J. K. Rowling was trying to make this movie into a big mystery rather than an adventure. It was some mystery in the book--but not as much as in the movie. The climax in the book was built solidly on evidence and perfectly fitting pieces. However, the movie had cut-off puzzle pieces that were thrown together in the end and somehow expected to be understood. I would also expect better from John Williams (the guy who composed music for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, etc.). I hate to say it, but this music was awful. There was only one spot in which the music fit into the movie and sounded good, and it was toward the end of the movie. John Williams tried too hard to make it sound "magical", I think. The movie follows as closely as it can to the book, but I wouldn't really suggest seeing this in the theater unless you're a true die hard Harry Potter fan.