Nowhere near as good as it could have been

Rating: 4/10 (15 May 2002)

I was ready to embrace this film with open arms, being a fan of the books. But I really felt after watching it that the best way to describe it was 'crap'
The kids were terrible actors! Most kids I have to admit are, but these ones especially got my goat. It was only the adults who saved it.

Every single scene acted as though it was trying to prove something, and so there was a feeling of people trying way too hard.
The music wouldn't stop! At every point loud and irritating chords were forced through your ears. I just wanted a bit of peace in some scenes to think about what was going on.
Although it was faithful to the books, it didn't capture the storyline well at all. Things felt glossed over or pushed under because they were trying to hard to wow you with special effects. This sounds silly when you think of all the people who have read the books, but to someone encountering the storyline for the first time it seemed a bit ludicrous. It lacked an essential something that the books had.
Overall I can't believe the makers thought they were in for a chance to get an award. This had good effects, but very little else.
4/10