I enjoyed it, but don't take the kids. My 5 year old wanted out after 20 minutes, my 7 year old wanted out after 45 minutes, and my 8 year old wouldn't let Mommy leave her side until she had fallen asleep.
If you're reading this, I'll assume you've read the book, but if not, be warned: SPOILERS TO FOLLOW.
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The new Dumbledore is OK, but not great. Taking that job was like following Bear Bryant at the University of Alabama -- a no-wing situation. They made just a few changes to the book's plot; some I liked, some I didn't, some were just editing to save time.
It's interesting to see how the imagination of the movie people is in some ways better than my own, in some ways worse, and in most ways just different.
I have no problem with the characters, since I saw the first movie before I read any of the books. They're growing up, and some of the changes are striking. Neville and Draco, for instance, have grown a foot or more since the 2nd movie. Hermione is going to be a beauty. Ron and Harry have grown about like you'd expect. Hagrid seemed bigger -- how do they do that?
The hippogryph was way cool, the werewolf less so.
But overall, the movie was much darker. The dementors were just scary as shit. Not different from the book, but the movie makers gave the horror of them an intensity that went way beyond my own imagination.
One more thing. The movie made very little effort to bring people new to the series up to speed on background. By all means, if you haven't seen the first two movies or read the books, do so before you go to this movie.
**** Four stars but leave the kids at home.