Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Before I start my review, I must disclaim that I am a huge fan of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series. That being said, I am also a big fan of the movies based on the series. There have been many complaints that this movie didn't convey the same texture as the book on which it's based or that too much was left out. These statements, while true at base level, forget that the book in question is 730-some-odd pages long and had the film inlcuded every detail, it would have been one of the longest movies in history. So, if you are a fan of the books and have yet to see this movie, do your best to accept each medium as its own entity, as comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I thought that the young actors really stepped up their games in this installment and it was fun to see them dealing with all of their teen angst and such. The special effects are out of this world and, as always, the score is terrific. There are some wonderfully funny moments, as well as some truly heart-wrenching ones near the end of the film. That said, I do think that this is a weaker film than "Prisoner of Azkaban". I think that this weakness lies at the feet of the director, Mike Newell, who seemed intent on making this movie about time spent at a British boarding school. Mr. Newell made the movie with the school being the central element and all of the magic and adventure being secondary, while it's really the other way around. Because the focus was on the social issues at school (a huge amount of time is spent on the "Yule Ball" --like a Christmas Prom--and other such issues), a lot of very important details were left out. If you haven't read the book, it's probable that you won't have any idea why anything is happening, as the film jumps all over the place. I have read the book several times and knew what was going on, so it didn't matter much to me. The director and screenwriter opted to leave out a lot of integral details, but kept many either fringe details or included something that was important to the book (like "Daily Prophet" gossip reporter Rita Skeeter), but didn't explain or devote enough time to it so as to beg the question, "What was the point of that??" Overall, I think that this is an enjoyable movie. If Amazon would allow a review of 3.5 stars, I probably would have ranked it there, rather than give it the four stars that I did. As long as you go into watching the movie with the expectation that it is not the book come to life--just a movie, folks--then you'll enjoy it. If you are the sort who gets bent out of shape when a movie doesn't live up to its parent book, you'll probably be disappointed.