Even better the second time!
A terrific Potter movie. Great performances from an amazing cast, creme of England's best and brightest actors. Some are great with amazing subtlety (e.g., Alan Rickman as Snape); others terrific with over-the-top overacting (i.e., Helena Bonham Carter's Bellatrix LaStrange).
The pacing is perfect, the entertainment value consistently high, the tone pitched particularly well. The kids were great, newcomers and old hands alike ... and held their own with, have I mentioned, the creme of England's best and brightest actors.
Even the minor complaints I at first agreed with Chernabog on have evaporated upon a second viewing. There's no choppiness. Yeah, they cut a bit of business in getting into the prophesy storage room at the mintistry, but every step of their easier arrival was shown in proper film montage.
They didn't have to say who gave the prophesy, since it was clearly Sybil Trelauny's voice intoning it in the film.
And though there wasn't much in the plot about the main threesome's friendship ... I was surprised how often it informed the film and how very many scenes involved their bond just below the main action.
It certainly doesn't hurt the film's effect on me that each member of the threesome is more attractive than they were in
Goblet of Fire. Emma Watson is thankfully beautiful again (and she's legal now, isn't she??).
But Rupert Grint is a revelation. With few words and no starring moments, he comes across as a surprising presence ... and omg, whod'a thunk it - - Ronald Weasley turned out to be a very beautiful boy ... and frankly dead sexy in many of his scenes. Hubba Hubba.
If anyone had told me my new Harry Potter crush would be Ronald Weasley, I'd have said they were daft.
A fantastic Harry Potter Movie! I am soooo pleased!