I can’t say if I’m a Harry Potter fan or not. At least one of the kids is, as he’s read the books (even if he’s not supposed to have read all of them yet). The other one is, because his brother is, but he’s actually getting at the age where he’s starting to be contrary about it, so I’m not even sure how to classify him.

Whatever the case, I think the movies in the series are starting to fall into a bit of a rut. Either that, or I am. I can certainly admit to enjoying the first, second, and probably even the third in the series. But by the time the four came along, it was getting to be a bit much. I think it had to do with the size of the stories. The Sorcerer’s Stone was three-hundred something pages. The Order of the Phoenix was nearly 900! At some point, it’s just too much for my brain to handle.

On to the movie itself: The visuals are stunning, as usual, and the effects are as impressive, if not more so, than ever. I will say that for the first few minutes, as Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and Dudley (Harry Melling) were being attacked by Dementors, it made me think of a well-done zombie movie, and I do like zombies.

After that, however, it went downhill rather quickly. There was just a bit too much going on for too long in order to make it really enjoyable. I’ve seen people who noted that the movie was merely a list of items to check off, and I completely agree – it was just one thing after another, and on and on, for well more than two hours. No excuse at all for that sort of work. It’s a huge book, and a lot to do, but either the books need to get shorter or the movies need to handle it better. Since the books are written, the movies need to be done better – perhaps multiple movies per book. Or drop a few scenes. Something.

The acting is certainly passable, but they can only do what they are given to work with, and here it isn’t much. I’d imagine that it’s the work of the person writing the screenplay, but I really can’t say for sure.

Rated PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images.

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Actor: Adrian Rawlins, Actor: Afshan Azad, Actor: Alan Rickman, Actor: Alec Hopkins, Actor: Alfie Enoch, Actor: Apple Brook, Actor: Arben Bajraktaraj, Actor: Bonnie Wright, Actor: Brendan Gleeson, Actor: Bridgette Millar, Actor: Charles Hughes, Actor: Chris Rankin, Actor: Christopher Rithin, Actor: Daisy Haggard, Actor: Daniel Radcliffe, Actor: David Bradley, Actor: David Thewlis, Actor: Devon Murray, Actor: Emma Thompson, Actor: Emma Watson, Actor: Evanna Lynch, Actor: Fiona Shaw, Actor: Gary Oldman, Actor: George Harris, Actor: Geraldine Somerville, Actor: Harry Melling, Actor: Helena Bonham Carter, Actor: Imelda Staunton, Actor: James Payton, Actor: James Phelps, Actor: James Utechin, Actor: James Walters, Actor: Jamie Waylett, Actor: Jamie Wolpert, Actor: Jason Boyd, Actor: Jason Isaacs, Actor: Jason Piper, Actor: Jessica Hynes, Actor: Jim McManus, Actor: John Atterbury, Actor: Josh Herdman, Actor: Julie Walters, Actor: Kathryn Hunter, Actor: Katie Leung, Actor: Maggie Smith, Actor: Mark Williams, Actor: Matthew Lewis, Actor: Michael Gambon, Actor: Michael Wildman, Actor: Miles Jupp, Actor: Natalia Tena, Actor: Nicholas Blane, Actor: Nick Shirm, Actor: Nick Thomas-Webster, Actor: Oliver Phelps, Actor: Peter Best, Actor: Peter Cartwright, Actor: Ralph Fiennes, Actor: Reshad Esmail, Actor: Richard Cubison, Actor: Richard Griffiths, Actor: Richard Leaf, Actor: Richard Macklin, Actor: Richard Trinder, Actor: Robbie Coltrane, Actor: Robbie Jarvis, Actor: Robert Hardy, Actor: Robert Pattinson, Actor: Rupert Grint, Actor: Ryan Nelson, Actor: Sam Beazley, Actor: Sam Gaukroger, Actor: Shefali Chowdhury, Actor: Sian Thomas, Actor: Tav MacDougall, Actor: Timothy Bateson, Actor: Tom Felton, Actor: Tony Maudsley, Actor: Warwick Davis, Actor: William Melling, Director: David Yates, Rated: PG-13, Year: 2007