Here's my Harry Potter mini-review; I'll try to avoid spoilers but no
promises.
I liked it.
I was a bit worried because the
critics liked it and these are the same idiots who complained about the first
movie because it was "too close to the book.
WhatEVer.
No wonder they were happier though, because
this one does depart a bit more. In general it wasn't a problem; for instance, the
scene with the Malfoys shopping in Diagon Alley was omitted, but a speech from
Lucius at Flourish and Blott's Bookshop made his Dark tendencies just as obvious.
There were a few new oneliners and a few places where minor departures from the
text added a lot of visual punch -- for instance, Harry and Draco's chase though
the scaffolding of the stands in the Quidditch match. (I will say, though, that
the reviewer I read who claimed the match was more realistic this ime was clearly
sniffing glue.)Another nice touch was that Harry was filthy from his Floo trip and
Knockturn Alley when Lockhart pulled him up for a picture for the Daily Prophet in
the bookstore, adding to his obvious annoyance at being in the spotlight.
The atmosphere was well done, again, and Branagh as Lockhaart was
brilliant and hilarious, while the actor who played Lucius Malfoy was brilliant
and chilling. The mix of styles in the costuming, from Elizabethan (Lockhart's
dueling doublet) to Georgian (Malfoy's hair and clothes toward the end) to
early/mid Victorian (Diagon Alley, Fudge's clothes) did a nice job of conveying an
Olde English flavour.
My complaints are that there were hints of an
Harry Hermione 'ship that seem to me to go against what's coming in Book 4 (though
Rudder debated this, so it's a matter of interpretation) and that Harry himself
was a wee bit arrogant in spots -- though again, some people see that in the books
too.