I was disappointed. The special effects were good and the acting is maturing. However there was soooo much left out relevant to the story and stuff that would have made great viewing. For example :-

* Harry wasn't shown at the Dursleys at all. We missed the Weasleys trying to get through the boarded up fireplace via the floo network, and the twins baiting Dudley with the ton tongue toffee, etc.
* The quidditch match with the team mascots (leprechauns and Veelas), omnioculars, and any of the actual playing
* Ministry's efforts to avoid the muggles interacting with the wizards camped out for the world cup
* The twins' subplot of starting up Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and the blackmail of Bagman.
* The house elves
* etc etc. That's just from the first few chapters alone.

I was very disappointed with the maze at the end as well. What happened to all of the booby traps (e.g. dementor/boggart) and the sphinx ? It was more than just creeping vines as shown in the movie.

All in all, it was a nice enough visual spectacle, but fell well short of the entertaining story that would have satisfied HP book fans.

Let's hope that there is a special extended DVD version with all the bits that were cut out to make up for the losses in the cinematic version.

Durro