Finally scene it! (review that got rather long - sorry)

[Sarah Leigh ...]

We walked to the the Odeon (the cinema formerly known as the UCI)in 
the bitter cold of a Preston November evening wrapped in scarves, 
hats and (very Lucius like) black leather gloves.  I had to book 
tickets and we took our seats early (to avoid front row or sitting 
separately).  I was flanked by my burly husband and even burlier son 
who both told me if I started saying anything about things not being 
like the book they would leave.  Most of the patrons appeared to be 
teenage girls (which my son enjoyed immensely) but I found rather 
annoying as they giggled a lot (particularly the prefect's bathroom 
scene - funnily).  After 23 TV adverts (hubby counted them) and a 
couple of trailers the film started.  I've got to the stage now where 
just the reflective WB symbol sends shivers down my spine (sad, I 
know, but at least I didn't count the ads!).
I was disappointed that there were no opening titles as such (does 
that make me weird?) and I kept thinking "now they'll do it", but it 
was never to be.
The film raced along at a million miles an hour jumping from scene to 
scene but it wasn't difficult to follow (could that be because I'd 
seen all the previews and read synopsi to death?).  It wasn't as 
complicated as the book (which is good, because before I was a true 
FAN it took me 2 or 3 reads to actually figure out who all the 
characters were - terribly confusing to a novice to have a character 
called Moody right after a book with a character called Moony, and 
Ludo Bagman - what WAS the point in him?) So the film was actually a 
lot easier to follow than it might have been had it stayed true to 
the book.
I thought the changes that were made were well done and didn't alter 
the crux of the tale - I just could have done with a bit more 
lingering on things; literally if you blinked you missed something.  
There was such a massive chunk of great British acting talent in the 
film that barely had a page of script each and that was a little 
sad.  Personally I could have done with more Gary Oldman (preferably 
in the flesh too) and David Tennant (but more of him on Christmas Day 
in Dr Who).
Michael Gambon has grown on me a bit - I said I would reserve 
judgement until I'd seen this film and I think I quite like him 
really.  Forget about the fact he hasn't read the books (if every 
actor read every single book they'd never act).  I think he has 
portrayed Dumbledore as more tactile (some might say violent) because 
of his fear for Harry.  He's behaving like a parent shouting at a 
child who's done something stupid and potentially dangerous, and then 
his fear and worry come across a bit later.
Neville was superb, although the bit about his parents was a blink 
and miss it bit, and I think Moody should have stolen the gillyweed 
and given it to him rather than the unlikely event of Neville 
stealing from Snape.
The acting has vastly improved.  The trio are so much better now; 
Emma just needs to stop shouting.  Even the twins are good (never 
previously very impressed) but they were given much bigger parts this 
time and it paid off.
Voldemort wasn't as scary as I thought he'd be, but the graveyard 
scene was edge of seat stuff.  But even for those not in the know, 
the luscious Lucius in a Death Eater mask was hardly a big surprise 
(but well worth the wait!) Forgetting about the slitty nose I 
actually found Voldy quite sexy (in a naked well-defined man kind of 
way)  Is that terribly wrong?
The star of the show for me was Ronald Weasley.  I like Rupert Grint 
more and more; he IS Ron.  He had the best lines, the best 
expressions and the funniest outfit ever.
So after a whirlwind 2 and a half hours it was all over (and I hadn't 
had time to think about my bladder once).  There isn't a scene that I 
want to replay in my head because there were so many (will be 
interesting to see just how many when the DVD comes out in April) and 
they were all so quick.  
It was spectacular, it was dark and it was mildly perilous and I 
liked it.  Here endith the review.  Roll on OotP.
Sarah xx