Okay, it took a couple of days to get back into the blog, but here is my review.
Excellent film. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. Just a trememdous film, with lots of energy. Knowing the story beforehand did not hurt the narrative. Though I did notice where they took chapters out for the screenplay, it was just extraneous fluff and not meaty enough to make the screen.
For example, do we have to see the Dursleys in every film? Can't we just assume that he went home for the summer and got out early for the Quidditch World Cup? Yes we can, because the film skipped right over that and did not even have the Dursleys in it. The only mention was a short sentence: Hermione asks Harry when he got here. He says yesterday. Perfect.
The special effects were blindingly good.
I was very concerned over the PG-13 rating. Would it be too graphic or scary for my four-year-old daughter, who just loves Harry Potter and would never forgive us if we left her behind? It was not too much for her. There were only two scenes that were of questionable nature. The first was when mer-creatures attack Harry in the Black Lake, and that was a flurry of clawing and furious activity. The second disturbing scene was when Voldemort becomes flesh again, and it was a little shockingly biological.
All in all, an excellent adaptation of the best yet of Rowling's books.
Once again, 4 1/2 stars out of five.
