Your review has got me pumped Jim, looking forward to seeing the film this evening.

The film series lost me with Goblet of Fire.  Prisoner of Azkhaban was bad enough, with it leaving out exceedingly important plot points, but Goblet of Fire seemed to hold an inherent hatred for its characters, exposing the basic immorality and illogic of the entire wizarding world.

Maybe it's better in the books, but the world of Harry Potter in the movies is not a world I'm interested in inhabiting.  From the brutal and masochistic "sport" of Quidditch to the appalling levels of danger and secrecy, to the bullheadedness and obliviousness of nearly the entire corpus of wizards, I just can't take it any more.

(And all that is without even mentioning the overused and trite "only one person can save us" basic storyline!)

I think Harry Potter is the most over-hyped, overblown work of mediocre fantasy fiction in history.  Rowling's world is a glum, ugly, contrived and uninspired world, especially when compared to the bright realms of Narnia, Oz, Middle-Earth and Wonderland. Her main character has ZERO personality and her supporting characters are tiresome "types" - bookworm girl and goofy slacker sidekick. Shades of Velma and Shaggy from ScoobyDoo! And speaking of mysteries, why on EARTH kids have taken to this series is a puzzle for the ages; one can only surmise that too many kids have been deprived of the classics and have no idea what good fantasy fiction is like. Plus Potter erupted during the era of Buffy and The X-Files, both of which aimed at an older fantasy-hungry audience, and Harry filled the void for the younger set. Rowling caught lightning in a bottle, and I congratulate her on her success, but I deplore her middling fiction being lauded as great literature. It's like calling McDonald's "food" great cuisine. I'll be glad when the last 2 films are released and the Potter craze is OVER.

Plus...Ron and Hermione as a couple? And Dumbledore is gay? Give me a freaking break!!!!

Harry Potter is about one boy's quest to replace his family by picking up a pseudo brother and sister in Ron and Hermione, and marrying into their family. That said, it's better than how Twilight wrapped things up.

Gigglesock-

Get off your high horse. Have you even read the books? Or are you one of those people who dislike everything that is "popular" so that you can seem edgy? If that's the case.... Grow up. That behavior is what I expect from the tween's that I teach on a daily basis.

Or Harmony shippers. If any of you guys run out of podcasts, try theirs. It's an interesting listen and funny in its presumption. Granted, I still think the final pairings are on the convenient side, but to hear people so convinced they know better than the author...

Priesman, I've read all seven books. I've earned the right to say that they fail to impress me. The first book was kinda cute. Derivative as hell, but cute. But as the series progressed, reading the books became a plodding tedious chore. At the very least, Rowling needed a good and gutsy editor. Again, I'm happy for Rowling's success, but still think her books are lifeless, listless, uninspired and glum. After reading "Order of the Phoenix", I reread Tolkein's "The Hobbit" as a way of cleansing the palate and reminding myself what good fantasy fiction is really like.

Tomoyo, what are "Harmony shippers"?

Potter fans who support a romantic (relation)ship between Harry and Hermione.

I really enjoyed this movie and thought it was a great setup for the very exciting and intense last installment of the series.

What a bunch of whiners. I love Harry Potter.