Review Detail

I’d originally watched the first two edits a few years ago when they first came out. Because these were the most interesting edits of the Potter films out there I was a bit disappointed when the edit for Chamber came out because I believed that given your stated intentions for the edits that you were going to stop after that. So I was really pleased when I found out you were going to edit every film in the series. I was especially so when I found out that the next edit would be of Goblet of Fire, which was my least favorite of the movies, or at least it was until the recent release of Crimes of Grindelwald, although that’s another story and I still did ultimately enjoy that movie. The edits have improved with every film, and that trend continues here.

This is the best of your edits so far, and I enjoyed almost all of the choices you decided to make. The best part of the edit is how you completely restructured the plot of the film from when they get to Hogwarts all the way to the first task. Removing Ron and Harry’s fight isn’t something that I would think to do. I personally really liked this about the film and book, but I can understand why others would take issue, as the execution of it in the film had some questionable moments. However, I didn’t miss this at all when watching the edit. I’d credit this to the way that you reordered the scenes as that’s what makes this removal work and it wouldn’t have without that decision. Without the restructuring, the plot would have moved way too quickly from the instant that Harry gets chosen to the first task, and the tension wouldn’t be able to build properly.

The rest of the changes continue along the lines of the first two edits, but with almost none of the weaknesses that detracted from the previous attempts. No scenes that were removed felt jarring, and adding in those two deleted scenes massively improves the film on its own. Another change that continues from the previous edits is adding in more music from the rest of the series to make it musically consistent which I really appreciate. My favorite moments during which this occurred were the tracks added to Sirius and Harry’s conversation and the tracks from the first two movies during the dragon fight.
My only substantial complaint that I had was the music you added to scenes that originally had none. This wasn’t a problem with the quieter tracks, like those small stings from prisoner and chamber, but the worst offender was during the intro to Moody and when Harry’s name gets pulled from the Goblet. Those moments were silent for a reason and adding music rather than adding to the scene, actually detracts from it. I’d caution the use of this on future edits as it robs the movie of its subtlety. I think using quieter tracks and putting comedic tracks in order to accent the comedy like in Moody’s class works much better, but louder and more conspicuous music should, in my opinion, be avoided.

There were also a few things that I wish you would have been able to take out, such as Crouch Jr. in Harry’s visions, and that weird tongue flick that David Tenant and Brendan Gleeson do, but that just isn’t possible with the available footage. I also wish that the ending could be made more somber, as I’m not a fan of the trio’s last moment in the film, as it’s too comedic coming from the devastating finale, although the music you added does help to somewhat rectify it. However, I’m glad to say that this is your best edit yet, and it actually does replace the original movie for me. I can’t wait for your next edits for the rest of the series, and also any other edits you make from now on.