I just don’t know with this one. Didn’t like it back in the day, and that’s still the case now. The directing and visuals are a major step down from Cuaron, though it still maintains a lot of its gothic style. Some of the acting choices are highly questionable. I’m not just talking about that one scene with Dumbledore that got memed to death, but also some of the choices made by Brendan Gleeson and David Tennant can be a bit much. Still, even Mike Newell can’t get a bad performance out of Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman, so there’s that. The first act feels rushed as hell, it’s pushing through way too much stuff. Take the Quidditch World Cup. Not only is it a bummer that we don't get to see the interesting stuff (the match), but the attack that follows isn't very well done either. The blocking is super awkward, the way it’s edited and put together looks sloppy, the scene doesn’t breathe. To me, this film doesn’t really find its groove until that first classroom scene with Moody. From there on, it’s a mixed bag. Some of the spectacle’s fun and well done, but there are also some moments that feel cringy. That might be intentional, as the main characters are teenagers, but there’s something about the directing and dialogue that feels off. When it comes to the characters, I do think this film has some major building blocks for the journeys of Harry, Ron and Hermoine as characters, and that’s all pretty well handled. However, none of the other champions are even remotely interesting, and that sucks because Robbert Pattinson’s probably the most important part for the emotional core of this film, so his big moments don’t hit as hard as they should. In essence, it’s still competent, but I think it made a lot of the wrong choices and ends up being very flawed.
Review by JordyVIP 8BlockedParent2022-09-07T22:10:38Z
I just don’t know with this one. Didn’t like it back in the day, and that’s still the case now.
The directing and visuals are a major step down from Cuaron, though it still maintains a lot of its gothic style.
Some of the acting choices are highly questionable. I’m not just talking about that one scene with Dumbledore that got memed to death, but also some of the choices made by Brendan Gleeson and David Tennant can be a bit much. Still, even Mike Newell can’t get a bad performance out of Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman, so there’s that.
The first act feels rushed as hell, it’s pushing through way too much stuff. Take the Quidditch World Cup. Not only is it a bummer that we don't get to see the interesting stuff (the match), but the attack that follows isn't very well done either. The blocking is super awkward, the way it’s edited and put together looks sloppy, the scene doesn’t breathe. To me, this film doesn’t really find its groove until that first classroom scene with Moody. From there on, it’s a mixed bag. Some of the spectacle’s fun and well done, but there are also some moments that feel cringy. That might be intentional, as the main characters are teenagers, but there’s something about the directing and dialogue that feels off.
When it comes to the characters, I do think this film has some major building blocks for the journeys of Harry, Ron and Hermoine as characters, and that’s all pretty well handled. However, none of the other champions are even remotely interesting, and that sucks because Robbert Pattinson’s probably the most important part for the emotional core of this film, so his big moments don’t hit as hard as they should.
In essence, it’s still competent, but I think it made a lot of the wrong choices and ends up being very flawed.
5/10