I have read the book but obviously have only come to this first part of the film dramatisation rather late in the day. Not a bad thing actually as it reduces the book-to-film comparison it's very easy to fall into. Thus I found myself watching it almost afresh and was able to watch it as a film first rather than an adaptation.

That said, I did find it slow in parts yet conversely haphazard in some of the no out essential editing to get the required halfway point of what is a very long and detailed novel. This method rather exposes the acting skills of the young leads and while they've come in a bit since the early adventures, I still don't think they can quite carry the movie off on their own shoulders. The action sequences are much darker and scarier than before but probably too far apart to really have the maximum effect. In between we get a lot of scenes in the dark, on the woods, by a loch and in a tent, where we're meant to get caught up in an imaginary triangle between Harry, Ron and Hermione. There's no Hogwarts, the Express train or even Hagrid's Cottage and also very little in the way of experienced support to relieve the lack of dramatic tension too.

This accent on melodrama reaches its nadir with the death of Dobbie in a terribly overblown "Little Nell" type scene. From there we don't even get a cliff-hanging climax to propel us onto the sequel, which while I will watch it soon, will I think be more satisfying as it reaches its conclusion. This did look to me very like half a film but with more vigorous editing could have ended up better than it did, at least in my eyes.