Now that it's out, what do people think ?

I saw it today (Wed 11th) in Australia, and really like it. It's the best movie of the 5 so far in my opinion. It is truer to the book, although many subplots have been left out for expediency's sake. No Mrs Black, No visit to Hogsmeade on Valentine's day, etc, and other bits are barely mentioned, like the Weasley Twins experimentation with their joke lollies on the students. Some things are condensed, such as who betrayed the DA and why (Cho Chang got interrogated with Veritaserum by Umbridge). But it has the overall feel and mood of OoTP - lots of dark brooding, teenage angst and tension. There are extra bits that add to the entertainment, such as Crookshanks going after the extendable ears.

The acting is by far the best of the whole series. Dan portrays a torn, conflicted Harry very well. The emotion of Sirius's death scene was well done. Emma Watson lost the eyebrow arching, ennounciating overacting that was her tragic effort in GoF and does a really good job of Hermione this time around. Rupert's Ron is sensitive, wiser and with lot of dark humour - a more substantial character. Umbridge is restrained but suitably evil and becomes more so as the film progresses. Staunton did a great job. The new Luna Lovegood is excellent. And finally, Michael Gambon's Dumbledore is closer to the mark - less of the flaky lightweight and much more along the lines of the serene, all knowing and all powerful wizard that he is. Richard Harris would be proud.

The effects are excellent (except a couple of scenes with poor painting of perspective in supposedly long distance backgrounds) and the cinematography sweeping and grand. The use of flashbacks is effective and the montage of Daily Prophet articles helps to speed things along nicely.

There are two lines of great significance that I picked up on. Firstly, Malfoy's line to Harry in the DoM about his scar and secondly, Luna's line to Harry at the end about being reunited with things we've lost. I won't ruin it, but I think that they both have major implications for the 7th book.

Overall, it was great. The wife and I went without our 5 & 8 year olds to see what it was like. We are going back with the kids, as the violence is either threatened or implied, but there is very little actual damage done to people. Luna gets a blood lip at the end in the DoM, but that's about it. Actually, the 6 DA members get off very lightly compared to the book. But, it is suitable for children and not too horrific, which was my concern in checking out without them first.

I loved it. Best one of the whole series. I'm glad the same director is back for the 6th one and hope he'll be back for the 7th. Go and see it for sure - you won't be disappointed. It will be simply loved by Harry fans.

Durro

See a more full opinion/review of mine here.

I think this is my favorite one too, much more true to the book than GoF, especially. The twins' escape and Umbridge's ride with the centaurs were my favorites, those scenes were played very well, I thought, and were pretty hilarious to watch, as well.

I do think that Sirius's death scene was rather rushed, if the sound had been used, to actually hear Harry screaming, I feel it might have been better, and the veil was just downright disappointing. It was supposed to be a curtain, and Sirius arch backwards into it and just disappear, only seeing shadows behind it, not this funky mist stuff that it was... He just sort of became one with the wall and faded away, a very disappointing death to me.

The Black Family tree was amazing, tho yes they did leave out Sirius' mother, not like I'm especially heartbroken not to see the wretched woman screeching, but it would have been good to help set the mood of the movie as well.

Umbridge's violent pink outfits disgust me, sickened me. She started out just fine, sort of, being a light baby pink all over, but each time you see her she's a more and more violent shade of pink, and at one point was even wearing a fuzzy coat. Staunton plays a wonderfully wicked Umbridge that you have to just love to hate. She definitely got her comeuppance with the centaurs later on. I think they did great work on her.

Overall tho, I did like the movie alot, and seeing Tonks in action is great, all the characters have developed a bit more since GoF, even if it was just in their acting. Luna is great, Evanna fits the character wonderfully, she just makes it all a more positive feeling. Great movie, tho some parts are twisted, others are missing, but then again you can't possibly fit everything in a book into the movie.

Yep, it was definately one of the better movies. I saw the movie last night and I went in not really expecting much, as I'd heard some pretty shoddy reviews of it.Thankfully it surprised me a lot.

Obviously there were a few things that were just wrong, like Cho betraying the DA and the 'list' that they signed not being cursed by Hermione. Not to mention the Keacher's involvement in bringing Harry to the Ministry. But I guess they're really just minor things that could understandably be changed, with out dissapointing too much. However, I thought the use of the papers was a great idea and worked really well to cover alot of the information.

The whole ministry section was just done brilliently, though it did feel slightly rushed, seeing as it was the shortest movie and the longest book, I really think they could have stretched out the Ministry a little bit more. Sirius death was very moving. I actually liked the funky mist stuff though, I always had difficultly picturing the curtain. The final fight between Dumbledore and Voldemort was just amazing.

Yep, that was exactly what my brother said when we left. I think that the three main have improved so much, especially Grint, who I thought was fantastic in this movie. Staunton was exactly how I imagined Umbridge to be. Lynnch got Luna perfectly and played her so well, with that dazed look on her face. Grawp was just gorgeous, I think I feel slightly in love with him.

Overall I think they got the humour and drama balance just right in this film. Definately the best by far, especially as it was my least favourite book.

Well,
I went to see it today and honestly I was disappointed. The way they cut from scene to scene with no connection from one to the other was bothersome. And honestly comparing the book to the movie the movie doesn't even compare. The movie doesn't give a very clear picture of some of the main events to help with what might be next. Sorry just an oppinion.

I saw the movie last night at midnight, and I hated the fifth book. So going into the movie, I honestly expected to be bored to tears until the Ministry battle. Instead I absolutely enjoyed it, I loved it more than the book! The only thing is that the Ministry battle could have been better. I personally wanted to see more in the Department of Mysteries.

I went again tonight with my sister, who doesn't read the books, and she had know idea what was going on. I get that. I feel like this movie was most rewarding to those who read the books. They could have focused more on the prophecy, which received little explanation and fanfare.

Other than that, I thought the directing was exquisite and script adaption to be divine. I felt the movie flowed much better than others and it managed to crop out all excessive "Harry angst", which for me ruined the book. In my mind, this was how the fifth book should have been. I honestly feel like the script writer cropped out all the nonsense and left the essence of the book. Yates was able to capture the real relationship between Harry and Sirius. I always got that Sirius was Harry's godfather and therefore a close connection, but I never really felt it until I saw it on screen. I'm now quite sad Sirius is dead, I rather liked him in this movie. He came off less angry and less bitter in this, which I think took his character in a different, but very interesting, direction.

Casting wise, this was brilliant. Evanna Lynch was the greatest catch. I couldn't imagine Luna being anybody else! Tonks was awesome, of course, even though we only saw a little bit of her. Dan-wise, I always thought he was very good, but during scenes with intense emotion, he never was able to really perform. That was, until this film. He has grown so much as an actor, that his performance completely stood on its own accord, and he showed why he is Harry Potter.

gave my review hir back at the polls section.... its so long can i repost it here? no i dont think so... i ddnt really liked OotP, GoF is way too better! anyway they squeezed in lot of details here, and i dont think there's any major holes in the movie though...of course a lot has been removed from the books but that's okay...

its just, i ddnt feelt the Harry Potter spirit upon seeing the movie, there are few memorable scenes, like the scenes where Umbridge does her high inquisitor, the trio talking after Harry's kiss and of course the battle in the ministry...

it missd the feelings the way the book made us feel, the complete sadness after Sirius died, or Harry's "raging hormones"...though there are some scenes that depict Harry's twinged attitude, i think its not enough...

but all in all, the actors all did great! they still gave exceptional performance, i couldnt ask for more...also the visuals were enough & awesome...

...its just there's something wrong with screenwriting & cinematography of the film..

i really liked it, had a lot of Hr/R moments in it, very cute, lol.

The whole MoM ending was really good, allthough sirius death was too quick. The way the order appeard in the MoM was cool, and Dumbledore and Voldemorts duel had some awsome visuals. It was very tru to the book, had a lot of lines in it straightfrom the book and included a lot of little things like Ginnys powerful reductor curse. one thig i noticed in the final scene is that Luna uses the "levicorpes" spell on a deatheater, i would have wanted for that to be discovered by harry in the HBP.


with the acting..Evanna as Luna was brilliant! love her! and Tonks was just as i imagnied her. allthough they didnt explain that she was an animorphmages. i cant spell that sorry, lol.

okkkkk
the acting and the scenes were great! and it was really true to the book in some parts! i LOVED luna!!!!!! LOVED tonks!!!(they didnt explain why she could change her nose tho..!) LOVED the sets! LOVED the lines!
BUT...
i didnt really like it. they left A LOT of stuff out. about 3/4 of the book!!!!!! i kno they had a time frame, but they could of made it 3 hours like pirates. i hated how they had Cho tell on the DA instead of Marietta! they didnt even mention that the group was called Dumbeldore's Army. i think for ppl who didnt read the book (like my sis and parents) they had NO idea wat was going on half the time. i also hated that they used levicorpus!!!!!!!!!!!! that was discovered in HBP..well by Harry. but still!
my biggest problem with the movie was it was WAY to fast! like it went from one thing to another really fast and there was no break! no transition between scenes. like when Harry saw the snake bite Mr. Weasley..there was no explanation..it was too fast and then Snape went rite into Occlumency lessons and i was like wat....? wat just happened? I knew wat happened but other ppl mite have not. it was reallly wayy too fast. do u kno wat i mean? like there was no connection..it was too RUSHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

overall it was an ok movie..maybe not my favorite. i was hoping it would be my favorite cuz the book is my fav. book! it was good..i just think it was too fast and didnt have that much information. i really dont think they should have cut out ALL the scenes they did and rush into the scenes like they did! if i didnt read the book..it was GREAT then lol. i mean it was good except for the fact that it was too rushed! no explanations! uhhhhh! im sooo upset!!!!!!!
oo well

I think after I felt so let down by GoF, I was expecting worse, so I was sooo relieved when I enjoyed this movie so much. It is definitely better than the last two, but I still love the magic of the first 2 films. I understand thought that OotP is a much darker book, and I think they managed this without making it depressing.
I don't think there were too many vital parts missed out, the only thing I think could have been done much better is the fight in the ministry of magic. Where was the room with the brains, the room with the revolving floor, and the death eater who turned into a baby. And I did miss the bit where Harry trashes Dumbledore's office, as this is so emotional in the book.
Evanna Lynch IS Luna, she couldn't have been better, but Tonks wasn't as I imagined her, I'm sure she has short hair in the book. Gary Oldman was brilliant, but I expected to be much more upset when he died and for some reason I wasn't.
Overall though it was a great film and I really enjoyed watching it. It was that good I'm going to see it again tomorrow night. See it as soon as possible!!! (but I do wish there was more Malfoy)

Wow. Everyone's review is so long. Mine will probably be short. Well...I think they did a good job trying to squeeze an 800 page book into a two and a half hour movie. I do have some things I didn't like though. They beginning really just flies. My biggest concern is Luna. She's not how I had Luna pictured AT ALL! I mean...she's a little too ditzy. I had Luna a lot more down to earth. What also bothered me was that Stupefy was a blue light instead of red like JKR described. Ron, Hermione, and Harry were fabulous as usual. Malfoy didn't have like any lines at all in the whole movie! I also thought Umbridge wasn't ugly enough. I had her pictures a heck of a lot fatter and uglier. She was pretty good though. She was definately evil enough. Her kitty plates made me laugh. Yet another thing that bothered me was that Cho blabbed on the DA. In the book it's her friend Marietta. I think that's all of my complaints, here's what I thought was really good. I think the whole thing at the Ministry was well done. Honestly, I think that was about it. I wasn't too pleased with this movie. They left too much out. But like I said before it's hard to fit 800 pages into a movie.

it is so AWSOME i went to the midnight showing but it is missing some many key points

there is no quittich
ron and herm wernt prefects
it didnt explain the prophecy as well as it could

but every thing else rocks tonks is awsome

Mine is long. D:

The biggest problem with Harry Potter being made into movies is that there's so much extra stuff you enjoy reading about that has pretty much nothing to do with the plot, that you can't conceivably have in a movie because it'd take too long (OotP, especially, just because there was SO MUCH to that book).

In other words, they basically took the book and shaved off pretty much everything that wasn't the main plot. But I guess you kind of have to, considering the book was 800 pages and they had to put it into a 2 hr-20 minute movie.

Random notes I have accumulated!

YAYS

~Dean Thomas is hot.
~Lucius Malfoy is hot. Especially since his hair isn't thick, fake, and ladylike. I mean, it's probably still fake but it's way better than it was. And I like that black/silver number he was wearing in the Ministry. Rawr. :B
~Voldy in a suit? WTF xDDD Hilarious.
~I thought Kingsley was going to be more Samuel L. Jackson-y. ("I've had it with these mother------ snakes in this mother------ Ministry!") But he was very cool nonetheless. :3
~Helena Bonham Carter did a very nice take on Bellatrix. Captured the "maniacal" very nicely.
~The girl who played Luna (Evanna Lynch) did an amazing job. Probably my favorite of the student actors.
~Dumbledore's actor was better in this one. He wasn't screaming his head off like in GoF, at least. x3
~Thestrals were pretty good. Better than the werewolf anyway. I LIKED THE BAAAABY THESTRAL ^_____^
~I did like the relationship between Harry and Sirius, especially since most of the bonding they did were in the 4th and 5th books, but Sirius wasn't in the 4th movie except for the fire scene. (Although in the Ministry during the fight, when Sirius said "Well, done, James", I thought that was really interesting.)
~Good effects, especially on the Patronuses.
~I like how they turned Umbridge's tyranny into a montage. It moved kind of fast, but it was really effective.
~OMG THE KITTENS. I loved and hated the kittens. (But mostly loved them.)
~YOUNG SNAPE. I D'AWWWWWED. EVEN IF HE TURNS OUT TO BE EVIL I WILL FOREVER BE HIS. I MEAN HIS FAN. YEAH. o___o


NAYS

~I'm sorry, this is my personal bias of not especially liking how Hermione is written for the movies (or Emma Watson's portrayal of her for that matter), but I was smacking my forehead at one point - Hermione with Grawp. Hermione was TERRIFIED on the verge of TEARS of Grawp in the book, while in the movie she was like, "oh yeah, I'm cool and calm and collected, I can handle this" King-Kong-esque weirdness that I didn't like at all. It just seemed very out-of-character.
~There was a lack of Lupin, Tonks, and everyone else who wasn't Harry.
~Umbridge, although well-acted, seemed too 1950's house-wifey, which took away some of the repulsiveness of her character. Still pretty repulsive, though. x3
~Grawp was too adorable and too easy to relate to. I expected him to be more troublesome.
~Dudley in the beginning when he's taunting Harry... I dunno. That was weird. Like, "I'm going to stare at you looking slightly stoned and cross-eyed". Acting? What's that? D:
~Arabella Figg was disappointing. In the book where she's ranting and raving, it's hilarious because it's so unexpected. But the movie-Figg was like, "... ooze".
~When Harry was spazzing out due to Voldemort nightmares, there were lots of weird, unnecessary neck shots. It was strange.
~Kreacher. I realize that they were going to cut him out, but JEEZ. It was like, "Hi I'm an obligatory cameo! The end! " and it didn't really work.
~This is just me being biased and feeling cheated that my favorite chapter in OotP was cut down to 5 seconds, but THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE "SNAPE'S WORST MEMORY". LIKE, THE ENTIRE MEMORY WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE. D< *shakes fist* x3

And, OK, Harry Potter on his emo trip in the book was just irritating. Harry Potter on his emo trip in the movie was hilarious. Not as much as Spider-Man 3, but still. I am gonna have SO much fun making a parody of this movie. xDD

The whole movie, overall, had its moments and was a pretty good adaptation of the events in the book considering the restrictions that they had. But it also felt like one giant montage of moments and scenes from the book with no cohesive movement or flow between them.

Overall - could have been better, could have been worse.

It was great! (Although there were some scenes that I would've loved to see there). I asked some of my friends (who don't read the books) if they liked the movie. They told me that it was confusing for them. The movie might be really hard to understand for those people who don't read the books. I must confess that I liked the fourth film better. And I wish that there could've been more fighting in the ministry.

I thought the movie was very good overall. Better than GoF and very close to the magic of the first three movies.

Casting/Acting:

The casting/acting was solid. The young actors are improving. Ginny didn't get a lot of screen time but when she did her "eyeing" Harry was priceless and her magic ability strong. I think overall the young actors really did a great job! It was nice to see them together - they really looked like a unit - for the DA and MoM scences.

Luna and Umbridge walked out of the book and onto the screen!!! Their casting was PREFECT! Bloddy Brillant!!! Wow there really is a Luna out there!! And who would of thought pick and kittens could be that scary!!!

Bellatrix is sick & twisted! I LOVED when she licked her Dark Mark and stood on the rocks all insanse! I can't wait to see more of her.

The adults were amazing as always. They need more screen time. We always need more Snape, Lupin and Sirius.
The Ordered looked great.
I loved Aberforth with his goat in the bar, LOL

Nay's -
Dumbledore! Loads better than GoF but still far away from the rich character in the books or the portrayal in the first three movies.

Mrs. Figgs!!! Not at all what I pictured. Too werid and detached - yuck!

Cuts:

I think the cuts worked well for the story. Most of what was cut was ack or side stories. I think they did the true story justice.

Directing:

The director really had a hard job with this film. This is more of a man verses self story more than anything. The book is long and repetitive but that's because it's more about the internal conflicts that Harry is enduring. The repetitiveness of his behavior builds up to the emotional climax in Dumbledore office at the end.

I know that is kind of hard to get across in film and not be boring to those who don't read the books.

I think David Yates is on the right track though. He brought back the magic of the first three movies and that was something GoF was lacking. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with HBP.

Sceneray/Sets/Coustumes:

Great! Great! Great!

Hogwarts looked wonderful! The MoM AMAZING! Great overall effects. I loved the Dark batteling the Light magic at the MoM. The start to the film was dark and gritty. The Therstials were creepy and beautiful.

Overall Plot:

I feel David Yates kept to the heart of the story. But the ending was VERY dissapointing and anti-cilmatic.

I was waiting for this big emotional scence with Harry & Dumbledore and it never came. It was like that just sat down for a cup of tea. There was no emotion in the scence. Harry didn't look upset or angrey at Sirius' death. Dumbledore was not emotionally convincing when he told Harry "he cares for him".


My changes:

I think if the movie was 30 minutues longer it would have been prefect!

I would have cut Grawp completely. I would have used that time to show how bad Harry's dreams were becoming.

I would have made the Dursley scence more emotional. Vernon would have tried to kick Harry out and Petunina would have gotten the Howler.

I would have kept the Prefect bit in just to show that Harry was isolated from his friends. I would have showed him riding on the train to Hogwarts alone.

They should of shown Kreacher with the locket at Grimauld place when he was pulling the box.

Snape's memory - longer & add Liliy's scene

The twins leaving fireworks - "Give'em Hell Peeves"

Hermine's "good luck kiss" for Ron

MoM - maybe visited at least one other room before finding the prophecy room (it was too easy)

MoM Battle - kids should have fought longer before the Order arrived & they should have shown Dumbledore kick Death Eater butt

Dumbledore & Harry - Harry yelling more and Dumbledore explaining things better i.e. - the prophecy, Umbridge sent the Dementors - 12 minutes

Book 7 Implications:

I agree with Durro!! I wish I had a pen and paper when I saw the movie. Those two lines just struct me.

Overall Rating:

7.5

See below - Double Post

I think that this movie was probably the strongest of the 5 so far. To tell you the truth, I was sort of dreading going to it, worried about how much they massacred the story, but was pleasantly surprised.

I was gutted about some of the cuts, McGonagall getting stunned and Rita Skeeter and St Mungos to name just three and I think that there wasn't enough of Grimmauld Place either (especially the portrait of Mrs Black). However, the acting is getting better and better, but I must confess that I was getting a bit dizzy with Emma Watson's constant eye brow wiggling. But her acting ability is getting stronger.

I found that Sirius has made much more likable in the film, but, what was with Mrs Figg??? Not at all the character I had interpreted from the book. I’m still not feeling Dumbledore. It might have been different if we hadn’t have had the pleasure of Richard Harris. Now he was my Dumbledore. Calm and just by looking at him, you could tell that he was full of knowledge.

Bella on the other hand was my Bella. She came straight from the pages and I can’t wait to see her develop in the following films. Helena is a gift of an actress and to cast anyone else would have been a mistake.

Overall rating, I'd give it a 7, it could have scrapped an 8 if they hadn't have ruined Mrs Figg's character (I've taken that to heart).

wished there was more ....missed the twins and the swamp!!!! i was so looking forward to the swamp! overall effects and vision was well done - story was just missing too much for me to give it more than maybe 3stars.

i like harry potter 5 on its own..it has the true feel of d book. also, daniel,emma have become so good in their roles..they just slip into it like folks slipping into their old pair of comfortable shoes,pajamas..

the movie is way too short for my liking. min shld be 3 hrs.it had so much cut fr d original trailers, clips etc..in d end,it's like a cut n patch film like goblet was..only in ootp,d plot n storyline is truer to the book..

overall i wanted more h hr scenes which hardly were thr..d book had loads of it...
theyput more ron-mione scenes instead...but d dueling between emma n rupert was fun w. a deep undercurrent of book 6.

it was one of my fave scenes-tht is any h hr scene,dumbledore vs voldermort,harry shouting at bellatrix,d common room-i explain my kiss scene n some others...even d grawp-hermione is scene is comical n sweet.

daniel,emma did some good serious acting, but emma had far too little air time.
helena was great,so was imelda..

tht's my review for now...

i'd give order of phoenix-a 7 out of 10.
in fact i'd give goblet a 7.5 out of 10..

ootp had some flaws..n way 2 short.

The movie was great. Best out of the series yet. 5 stars

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