Review Detail

I remembered this film being one of my favorites of the series, and was always puzzled why there seemed to be a lot of negativity towards it from some fans. I chalked it up to it following Prisoner of Azkaban, which some fans went absolutely bonkers for, and I still think that's a large part. But in a way, it's more because it's everything PoA wasn't.

This is a film driven by the plot (rather than tone and imagery), which is heavily based on action. It brings back some of the lighter golden and green tones so associated with the other films in the series. It also brings back a few scenes that capture Harry's continual wonder at the mechanics of the wizarding world, and that just aid in world-building. As an adaptation, I would've liked to have seen more of the personal stakes and character development from the books (all the Quidditch, for example) but this film was hamstrung by the complete removal of key storylines in adapting the previous book for Prisoner of Azkaban. All in all, the film does come off a bit cheesier and more ham-fisted than I remembered at times, and I still find the portrayal of Dumbledore VERY disappointing, but it's a fun, satisfying entry in the series.

Some of the scenes that are added back in (and masterfully so) do help to add a bit more depth or make the narrative flow a bit better. However, I really think some of the scenes are best left as extras on a dvd. The full musical performance is far too long, and none of our film characters are actually involved in it in any way. So it's basically like inserting a cheesy music video into the middle of a film. A couple other bits are quite cheesy as well, like the Hogwarts sing-along song, and really the score by Patrick Doyle is a bit unmemorable in general. This is actually a very well-balanced crowd-pleaser of a film that's made even better by the inclusion of a few extra scenes. Personally, I'd leave a few out, but if you want absolutely all the Potter you can get, this is the edit for you.