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• Director: David Yates
• Genre: Adventure/Family/Fantasy
• Year: 2007

I didn’t review HP? I am scratching my head, trying to figure out how exactly I was able to forget to review this. Sadly, by the time most of you read this review you will have already seen it, which makes this almost moot. But for those of you that didn’t get to see it (it may still be in some theaters, but surely not for long) I will go ahead and do a quick review on it.

Harry is getting older, which was one of the things fans often complained about, but as far as I am concerned, he is growing older with the books and bringing to this children’s franchise a bit of credibility. For the first time, I actually felt excited about a Harry Potter film. Yes, I really like the third one and I very much enjoyed the fourth, but this one…this one actually made me want to see it again right after I had watched it, which is a good sign, particularly when dealing with a film that is mostly on the blockbuster end of things.

Entertaining? You bet your ass it is, with Harry Potter finally stepping up, ending his whiny days and actually deciding to do something about this whole Voldemort problem. Facing disbelief and incredulity from the majority of the magical population, Harry and a handful of friends decide to take matters into their own hand, even when the lead of the school is handed by the Ministry appointed, Dolores Umbridge. And And finally, the threat seems real, the stakes seem raised and the film delivers on what is arguably the most adult installment of the series, but also the most exciting, thematically and visually. The acting is solid throughout, as is the directing and this time around the visuals have certainly been scaled up and the villain — or one of the villains — this time around comes wrapped in the strangest of packets, with a terribly sweet smile and a pink sweater.

While this may not be a film that changes your life or grants you a moment of intellectual epiphany, it most definitely is fun to watch and gets into your veins the way the original Star Wars got into my veins as a kid and all I can say is, if this is the direction the next two films will go, then I can not wait!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Notes: A bit more adult than the other HP films. Do accompany your children and prepare for some frightening images.
Quote: Dolores Umbridge: [walks in front of Harry with a straight face] Something wrong?
Harry Potter: [hesitates and looks at his scarred hand] No.
Dolores Umbridge: [bends down] Good. Because I know that you know deep down that you deserve to be punished.