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Not having read the books I rated the movie an 8. I wasn't confused at all about anything. There are a few minor details that I'm sure would be interesting from the book, but knowing that it was edited for time I just chalked those up to that. Everything that people seem to be complaining about wern't relevant to my understanding the broader plot or apreciating the movie as a whole.
The biggest problem I had was the feeling I had about a lack of resolution to the story, and the whole final 1/2 hour story line (I don't like that kind of story line in anything), but I know that is not the directors/screenwriters fault as the movie was pretty faithful to the book.
Rated it a 5, which means that I liked it about as much as I disliked it. Not a bad film in general, and some really good elements to it, but held back by a pretty major flaw.
Flaw first:
The screenplay. A couple of people have commented on the editing, saying the film felt a little slow. I don't think it's the editing at fault -- it's the screenplay. The problem is that there's not much story here. Nobody's trying to accomplish anything (except Sirius Black), so there's not a lot of tension at any point in the film -- which makes it feel slow. Sirius Black is not made much of threat, so we don't worry about Harry the way we do in the book, where you're wondering when this boggart is going to jump out of the closet. In the book it's very tense but the screenplay failed to produce that sensation. Likewise, in the closing act of the film, the threat of the Dementor's approach to the prisoner is not urgent enough, and again it feels flat and lacking in tension.
This carries over into other plot threads.
Draco Malfoy is just a buffoon, and you never really worry about Hagrid's status. The Dementors pretty much cease being scary once the Patronus charm is taught to Harry.
Good stuff:
The look is gorgeous. This is the least cartoony of the films, and the more realistic appearance really lends a lot to the production. Of course the effects are spectacular, but the manner in which they are (for the most part) unobtrusively made part of the background breathes life into the setting. Not so many "Look at our special effects budget!" shots, which is welcome. The costumes are also excellent and understated (I was going to say the kids spend most of their time out of their trim little uniforms, but that mental image quickly went places Eric's Grandma would NOT approve of).
The score is certainly one of Williams' best in recent memory. The previous films suffered from a bombastic score that overplayed every moment, but here the orchestra sits back and adds a light touch to each moment. Very nice.
Cuaron, unsurprisingly, gets terrific performances from the growing actors, and even if Rupert Grint is looking awfully robust for a thirteen-year-old, the three leads are all so unaffected and charming it's impossible not to believe them. Radcliffe is still convincing as Harry, though I wonder if he's not having a problem with intense scenes -- there were some abrupt cuts around scenes of him crying or yelling that make me wonder. Still, he's very much Harry Potter from the books. And Emma Watson's amazing.
Of course the old hands all take every opportunity to tear up their scenes. You can imagine the screenwriter coming up with lines specifically for Alan Rickman's precise diction ("Page three hundred and ninety-four"). Emma Thompson has a brilliant transition from eerie vision-seeing psychic to addle-brained teacher that brings the house down, and Robbie Coltrane, David Thewlis and Gary Oldman all deliver (though Oldman is sadly underused). Michael Gambon as Dumbledore suffices, though he by no means replaces Harris, and the filmmakers perhaps wisely keep Dumbledore to the sidelines for this go-round.
Also props for the walk-ons -- this film is full of unnamed characters who never speak (or have one throwaway line) but who nevertheless live and breath onscreen. The school feels for the first time like a living environment full of real people.
Cuaron has said he wanted this film to be about a boy's transition into adolescence, and that to some degree explains the choice to make such a unfocused, meandering picture, but that transition is not observed with much clarity or precision (compare with the transition from adolescence into adulthood in Y Tu Mama Tambien), and the film that results is saggy and lacking in dramatic tension. See it for the performances, for the gee-whiz effects, and for a number of great comic moments with some great actors. The sense of humour is a little more English than in the previous films, which is also appealing ("I'll just come back later, then").
The previous two films might have been condemned for too slavish an adherence to the books -- if you'd read the books there was very little to astonsih and delight on screen, just one depiction after another of moments from the books. This film offers a somewhat more idiosyncratic take on the Harry Potter story, which is welcome in and of itself, but Cuaron doesn't quite grab hold of what he was reaching for, and as result the film is unsatisfying.
So explain how that overrules common courtesy. The events in the books are hardly common pop culture knowledge, and to spoil the story of one medium because it first appeared in another is simply rude, pure and simple.
Joshua Dyal said:
Previews and trailers have been showing for months.
And previews and trailers have been ruining surprises for years. Following suit doesn't make someone less of a jerk (note that I'm not calling you a jerk, you didn't spoil anything, I'm addressing the people you're defending, which doesn't necessarily include Ferret either, it appears he just got a little overzealous and made a simple mistake.)
Joshua Dyal said:
I understand where you're coming from Kai Lord, but at some point there has to be a line drawn between preventing spoilers and being ridiculous. If you can't even discuss things that were in the frikkin' trailer or any standard non-spoiler critic's review without getting someone mad, then I think you've come down firmly on the side of being ridiculous.
Trailers aren't divine works of non-spoiling goodness. A lot of them do exactly what a trailer should not do. So falling back on "but it was in the trailer" is a completely dismissable position. You ignored it the first time so I'll say it again. If someone spoils Gandalf's return after Moria because it was in the trailer for The Two Towers, he's an ass. If someone spoils the fact that Tom Hanks gets off the island and says goodbye to his ex-fiance because "it was in the trailer", he's an ass. End of story.
And don't even get me started on saying its okay to discuss things that are mentioned in the reviews of professional critics. Roger Ebert himself not only gave away the fact that there is a
werewolf
in the movie but also which
teacher
it is! That's ridiculous.
If you want to say, "look, the
werewolf
thing isn't that big of a spoiler in the context of the story," then fine, I can go with that. But using the whole "but it was in the trailer/book that's been out for years/Roger Ebert's review" defense isn't a defense at all. Its just saying you side with the punks who don't care if they spoil someone's fun.
Now, we don't need to carry this on any further 1. because I want to get to discussing Harry Potter and 2. the internet spoiler issue is a pet peeve of mine but one I've long since accepted. For me personally its a non-issue because I'm smart enough to avoid any discussion whatsoever of movies I don't want spoiled in the slightest (Harry Potter obviously wasn't one of them.)
And most trailers and reviews suck so I avoid them too. Rant over.
when Harry receives the explanation for who Mooney, Prongs, Wormtail and Padfoot (of magic map fame) were and why P., P. and W. became Animagi. It makes the visual of the glowing Patronus Stag make more sense, and helps Harry connect with his father in the book. I kept waiting for Harry to call out to Lupin as he's leaving, "How did you know how to work the map?" or something but it never came.
Seems like the whole issue could have been wrapped up with about 30 seconds of dialogue, and would have made a lot more sense to people who hadn't read the book.
I wonder if this was filmed? It would make a crucial addition to the DVD, and should probably be edited back into the film.
I agree, this was the only thing that really surprised me in its ommission. I think it is the key to understanding pretty much *everything* in the backstory as well as a couple of unanswered questions in the film
like how lupin knew how to work the map, for instance. And while I'm inside spoiler tags, I'd just like to say that I thought the take on the werewolf was great - much more sinister and scary than the Van Helsing ones, for instance.
.
One other thing I'd always thought that the hippogriff was a dorky medieval fantasy creature, but Buckbeak has converted me, and I quite like them now.
Umm, huh? How is ti that the contents of one of the best selling books of all time isn't common pop culture knowledge. At this point Harry Potter is almost the definition of pop culture.
The very last scene should have been Pettigrew returning to Voldemort. That sets up the cliffhanger for Goblet of Fire, and also fulfills the last bit of Trelawney's prophecy.
If someone spoils Gandalf's return after Moria because it was in the trailer for The Two Towers, he's an ass. If someone spoils the fact that Tom Hanks gets off the island and says goodbye to his ex-fiance because "it was in the trailer", he's an ass. End of story.
For me personally its a non-issue because I'm smart enough to avoid any discussion whatsoever of movies I don't want spoiled in the slightest (Harry Potter obviously wasn't one of them.)
Um, you realize what youre calling yourself right?
I mean, here we're still yelling at someone for spoiling a movie in a clearly labeled "rate the movie" thread and you have a problem, because you seem to think that although "rate the movie" implies that we've all seen it, that there is some sort additional spoiler insurance.
BUT then you go and spoil two other movies, all the while claiming that any person who does so is an "ass".
Pot.
Kettle.
Self.
Or something.
Surely you realize that spoiling movies in threads about OTHER MOVIES is completely unforgivable, right? The argument about LOTR:TT being around for decades and in the trailer works for the side that believes that youre allowed to use common sense with spoiler tags, not your side of the debate. And Cast Away isnt even a genre film.
And you had no problems spoiling them, but continue to use tags 2 pages into the discussion about Prisoner of Azkaban. Ridiculous.
You just made yourself look really silly.
Not to mention...his name is REMUS LUPIN. if someone cant figure out what he is they should have their geek license revoked.
Spoiling The Two Towers at this point is like saying Darth Vader is Luke's father. It ain't a spoiler anymore (certainly on a forum like this) when its so ingrained into public consciousness. As for the "Tom Hanks" movie, well, I didn't name the movie in that post now did I?
For the same reason that the average person on the street can't name all 12 of Jesus' disciples. They were mentioned several times in a certain book that's sold legion more copies than the third Harry Potter book. Everybody knows the name "Harry Potter" but the details of the books are virtually unknown by the public at large.
There are millions of people who have never read LotR or even the Hobbit but watched the movie. Even now, there is a whole generation unfamiliar with the original Star Wars Trilogy, some of which are waiting for the the last of the prequels before the watch the Original.
Big difference is that books exist for LotR and Harry Potter. If people cut down their TV/videogame time and crack open a book every once in awhile they wouldn't be spoiled when the movie versions come around.
Frankly, I have no sympathy for people who would rather (notice this word "rather")watch the movies while refusing to or don't even make an effort to read the books. Those people should be spoilered on a regular basis for their laziness. Especially if they claim to be fans of the material (gawd all of the Movie LotR fans coming out of the woodwork and acting like they were fans from when they were younger is sickening).
Rant over. 
