Two words: See it.
OK, now a few more. Josh and I went to see HP4 tonight; of course, the line was already out the door when we arrived 45 minutes early. We went to the 7:30pm show on the Friday night the movie opened, so I knew it would be like that. Honestly, we were lucky to get two seats together. And right on the aisle!
The movie was spectacular. Mike Newell directed the screenplay, written by Steven Kloves. Newell is the first British director of this quintessentially British series, and he does a masterful job of bringing Book 4 to life. I was particularly impressed by Kloves's script, which manages to take Rowling's 734 pages and fit them into 2-1/2 hours without making you feel like you're missing much.
You are missing a lot, of course. In the book, for instance, the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang don't arrive until page 228. They're on the screen within 15 minutes of the film's opening. That's a lot of editing. Ludo Bagman, a central character in the book, is nowhere to be found in the movie. (What he does in the book is handled in the film by the character of Barty Crouch.)
But enough about what's missing. What's there is amazing. Madame Maxime, Viktor Krum, Cedric Diggory, Rita Skeeter and Voldemort are perfect. The Quidditch World Cup scenes, though painfully short, are astonishing. I loved the depictions of Harry battling the dragon in the first Triwizard task, the bottom of the lake where the mer-people live, the maze that seems to stretch on and on forever, the very creative scene where Sirius and Harry talk through the fireplace, and the Yule Ball. Oh, and Ron's dress robes.
Harry, Ron and Hermione are growing up and adolescence is upon them, which adds great human drama to everything. Neville Longbottom remains one of my favorite characters in the whole series. His dancing in this movie (as well as his painful scene with Mad-Eye early on) are wonderful. Cho Chang is a welcome addition to the series. Harry's crush on her makes him seem all the more real. My son Josh said she was prettier than he expected. I guess Josh is growing up!
My favorite new addition was Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, played by Brendan Gleeson. He was better than I could have hoped for. He looked and sounded and acted just like someone called "Mad-Eye" should.
Only Fleur Delacour seemed oddly flat to me. In the book, the Veela seem to shimmer. In the movie, they just kinda walk. There was nothing particularly heroic or even beautiful about Fleur, and she hardly seems like the kind of girl who would have Ron in a tizzy. Maybe it was just poor casting.
The regulars are great: Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hagrid, Snape. I'm hoping they all live long enough to see the series through to the end. (Hang in there, Maggie...) Of course, we lost Richard Harris after the first two movies and Michael Gambon has filled in quite nicely, thank you.
Off to bed for tonight. Next week: Rent!