mhg83

Roger Eberts 3 star review:

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/...IEWS/907129996

outcastja

I thought it was the best one since Azkaban. My only complaint was the ending which I thought was a little rushed and different from the book if I remember correctly.

Drop

I agree. It was good, and the cast all had their best performances. I really liked Gambon as Dumbledore in the film. He really proved how well cast he was for the role. The romance stuff was really well done, in spite of not finding Ginny the least bit attractive. And it was easily the funniest film.

But I still find PoA to just have the best plot and being so well directed. OotP was just more exciting, which really surprised me. HBP should've had more energy, but it didn't, even with the exciting last act. I did not find the ending rushed, but I would've liked to see some more things from the book.

Quake1028

I also really love Order, not sure what Bus is going on about there. I would also rank them:

Azkaban
Order
Sorcerer's
Goblet
Chamber

Going to see the new film on Friday night. Cannot wait.

outcastja

Deadlinehollywood is reporting it broke the midnight showing record with 20 million.

orangecrush

Seeing this after work today with my wife. I am excited.

Hokeyboy

Got my tickets for Premiere Seating this Sunday at 2:45 pm. I can't wait!

You know it's funny, we recently rewatched Order of the Phoenix. I really enjoyed when I first saw and felt it was easily the best of the Potter films, simply because it took the time and space to first and foremost *tell a story*. The look, feel, acting, and storytelling of that film was much better than of the others in the series.

And it was from my LEAST favorite Potter book!

My second favorite movie, CHAMBER OF SECRETS, is my second least favorite book as well. Funny how that works.

I'd rank the films as follows, so far:

Order of the Phoenix
Chamber of Secrets
Goblet of Fire
Prisoner of Azkaban
Sorcerer's Stone

I think PoA is a bit overrated by fanboys. Yeah, Cuaron gave the series a strong kick in the pants to open up a bit, but it still had pacing/editing problems that disrupted the flow of the storytelling. I loved how it looked, how human the characters really felt for the first time, and it benefitted from having the quickest, leanest plot of the HP stories. But not my favorite of the films.

DRG

You know, I agree with a lot of this, although my rankings might be a bit different. POA had a lot going for it, but I didn't agree with all of Cuaron's choices. He cut a few things that wouldn't have ruined the flow of the story but would have made the ending work a bit better, yet wasted screen time with his own silly whimsies (like the Jamaican shrunken heads and the monster book battle) that didn't add anything to the story.

Chamber of Secrets is also my 2nd least favorite book, but one I think was made more effective in the adaptation. The climactic end battle actually became exciting on the screen, where in the novel it came of as flat.

Order of the Phoenix also improved immensely in the adaptation, cutting out quite a bit of Rowling's overkill. Still, I was disappointing with the way Sirius' death was handled in the film... far too anticlimactic.

The Bus

What I wrote in the Phoenix review.

My problem, very clearly, was with the adaptation. I read the book fresh after I saw the movie. Honestly, now, I don't even know what half of my complaints are about.

But the blame is clearly on the screenwriter. He did Peter Pan (2003). The new (old) one did Wonder Boys. And all of the past films were at least enjoyable.

Kal-El

Seeing this with the wife tonight. But in other related news (from my E! news twitter feed):

Solid Snake

It's good to be WB for sure. Can't see this beating TDK though....maybe close.

The Bus

And to think they moved this for fiscal reasons.

pinata242

I enjoyed this movie. I thought it was tight and well-paced, even if the ending was a little rushed. The 2.5 hours just flew by.

I only wish that Harry had been immobilized by Dumbledore as in the book, it would have been more believable to his character. Although it does a decent job of showing how he's growing and wising up.

Also, I just loved how the whole Half-Blood Prince mystery and reveal was completely tacked on because the title necessitated it

mdc3000

^That's my main problem with the movie - we get NONE of the scenes that explain the significance of the Half-Blood Prince and the finale didn't carry enough weight and felt like the most streamlined version possible... the first 2 hours does such a good job with the pacing, taking time for the little moments that when the major shit all happens in 30 minutes, I felt a little underwhelmed... and like I said, there are a lot of little things in the book that give the characters more depth (especially Snape) but overall I really liked it a lot.

David Yates finally found his visual style and the movie looked fantastic with lots of really cool shots and the way things are framed being quite exceptional. The humour and love story elements work really well too. I enjoyed more than I disliked and I'm sure if I hadn't read the books, I'd put it at the top of the 'best in series' list, but since I have read the books I'd say the order is more like: Azkaban, Half-Blood Prince, Goblet, Stone, Order, Chamber.

pinata242

I'm also glad that there wasn't a giant Hogwarts battle like in the book. That never felt right to me anyway and it would have been highly unbelievable seeing it all go down.

I love the quick in & out assassination and extraction of Snape and Malfoy.

Though I could have used any of Greyback's story and Lupin's connection.

cartman

She wasn't supposed to. There was a huge plotline cut out where she and Lupin were having relationship troubles and that had an effect on her looks (she had "plain" brown hair since her mood wasn't good), as well as troubles within the Order.

I was expecting much more from this movie, but it was entertaining still.

asianxcore

Caught a Midnight showing of this last night.

Really enjoyed the film. I actually liked the change in opening, even though parts of it are barely mentioned in the book. I liked and didn't like the changes with the end of the film, so let's hope I get all that back in the Deathly Hallows films.

Also for anyone who read the book, did anyone get a little sad seeing:



Looking forward to the next two films. About halfway through reading Deathly Hallows for the first time, so I have to speed that up

Supermallet

I agree that there are a lot of cool shots (almost anything involving a staircase is interesting), but I'm not a huge fan of Yates' decision to drain a significant amount of color and soften the image so it looks like the actors are almost blending into the backgrounds. It's a really odd decision and I guess it's meant to reflect how the world itself has gotten darker since Voldemort's return, but it can get really distracting. He did the same thing on Order of the Phoenix.

Mr.Briggs

I loved it. Best in the series to me. How can a movie not be great when Armond White has officially certified it rotten. I can't believe that going into today it had 40 positive & 1 negative & today 100 more reviews have been added and the new total is 126 positive 15 negative (down from 98% yesterday to 89%).

fumanstan

Yeah, thats what I thought and commented on it earlier.

bluetoast

I liked this one better than the last one that's for sure, but I'm still disapointed that this director get a crack at FOUR movies. Wish someone else could have gotten a shot. Or that Cuaron could have come back! But one thing:

Was it just me, or did they never mention Lavender's name AT ALL? The only time they came close was when she herself wrote out the "L" on the window. Now I know time is short, and exposition is one thing but come on, a character's name?!

Supermallet

They mention her name a few times, I believe.

GenPion

Well, guys, I thought it was a terrible adaptation of the book. What a dreadfully disappointing film. Everything I loved about the novel seemed to be missing or was horribly condensed in this film. David Yates did a good job directing, generally speaking, but even then it didn't feel like a Harry Potter film should. The script felt cobbled together as well - it was poorly constructed to be sure. Scenes that seemed as though they should have been there were not - and I think even people who haven't read the books may feel that way. The cinematography and set designs were great but too dark for this story. In the novel half of the book showed the series at it's most serious and the other half showed it at it's most light-hearted. This movie fails to capture that spirit at all as there is a constant dread build around every scene. This film also failed to create a truly effective ending. Dumbledore's death was hardly worth feeling sad about as presented in this film as it had none of the emotional resonance as it should have. The scene with Dumbledore trying to destroy the horcrux was also ruined by the poor decision by the screenwriter to not follow this passage of the book as closely as possible for a film. Voldemort's backstory was greatly dimished, lowering the impact of the novel all around. Harry and Ginny were essentially boyfriend/girlfriend in the book - and even Ron knows. I guess the film-makers didn't think this was necessary for this point in time. They were wrong.

Last, but most certainly not least, the score was absolutely dreadful. I have never missed John Williams involvement in the franchise more than I do tonight.

There was a lot more wrong with this movie but I do not even want to think about it right now. I am that disappointing by it. This should have been the best in the film series, and one of the best films of all time. Period. J.K. Rowling's novel really was that amazing.

Matto1020

I am on the complete opposite side.

I prefer Yates to be able to tackle the last four movies instead of having four different directors. This allows him to set up things for his future flicks, as well as giving these last four movies a continuous style. HP3 feels different than HP1 or HP2, which feels different from HP4, which is feels different from HP5. Last thing I want is to be subjected to yet another persons take on Harry Potter.

Imagine each of the Lord of the Rings movies being directed by someone different... it would definitely not be as good as one director taking the helm. And as far as Curon his concerned... yes it was wonderful he took this franchise from the kiddy flicks to something a little more respectable, but he was no without his faults.

I think style wise, him and Yates are on par so far. HBP is easily my favorite of the Potter books and now the Potter movies. And it pleases me to know that Yates will be handling the last two installments as well!

Kal-El

Abso-bloomin'-lutely loved it. Despite all the changes they made, I felt that they kept the more important stuff and dialogue spot on. Favorite book, and now favorite movie.