Harry and his friends prepare to battle Valdemort on their own as the Ministry of Magic refuses to believe the evil lord has returned and tries to take over Hogwarts.

I've complained before at how much I dislike Angry Harry, who permeates this movie. But there are so many other things to love about it, too, and now that I've seen it many times, I feel that, like with other movies, I can forgive more. The world expands wider than ever, with Luna and the development of Sirius and Bellatrix and Lupin and so many other characters. There is a lot more magic in this book, and the series has made its full turn into darkness and maturity. The twins leave school, Dumbledore is fired, and the world finally has to wake up to the threat of Valdemort. The movies suffer from many of the same faults as the books, but also expand on the far greater strengths.

Both the book and the movie showcase what I term Mad Harry, which is distracting at best, and annoying at worst. He doesn't trust his friends, he's justifyably mad at being left out, and the new family he's finally found is used against him. There were a lot of funny moments, to be sure, like the extendable ears, and the Weasleys' antics when they've gone too far. I liked the way the caretaker was always smiling, giving credence to his statement a few movies ago that he misses the old ways of torture.

The movie actually condensed the book quite well, and showed most of the major plot points. Knowing now the details of future events (from the books, not the movies), I see where some things could be easily cut out, though it's hard to let them go.

I enjoyed this movie even more after having read the book recently. Although it only touches on the events of the book, it does a good job, and makes the characters central -though there are a lot of them! Everybody is growing up, from muscular Ron to the gorgeous girls. It's nice to see that Harry wasn't as angry in the movie as he was during the book.

A truly satisfying movie experience, with everything expected of a Harry Potter movie. The special effects were amazing, with everything feeling very real. The story was probably the best yet, as the students are getting older and can think for themselves. If they started at 13 years old, they must be 17 now. It is strange that everybody says they battled Valdemort 14 years ago -Harry was an infant when Dumbledore dropped him off at his aunt and uncle's house, not 3 years old. Still, I really liked seeing the flip side of London, the magical world that lives concurrently with our own. And the characters were really brought to life and reacted perfectly. The only thing that frustrated me was that nobody fought back at the new teacher who took over. One of the reasons for having such a character we love to hate is to see her brought to ground again, but that didn't happen. Instead, the Centaurs took her away and we never heard from her. And why was there no resolution between Harry and Chen, or news about Hagrid? Still, one of the better movies of the series. Oh, and Hermione is still gorgeous, but the serene blond and Ginny Weasley are both quite beautiful as well.