A lot more enjoyable than Ocean’s 13, but still left me rather cold. A similar complaint is that made up technology is no substitute for real action, although in this case the technology is of the magical variety. Wizard fights are just boring because magic has no set limits, and there’s only so many bolts of enery shot out of wands I can sit through before it all gets a bit ho hum. Dumbledore is brilliant, Snape is good, Sirius is not seen nearly enough (considering the plot), but the kids are very forgettable– except perhaps for Luna Lovegood, who is likable mostly because she is different.
Also shown at the screening was a trailer for The Golden Compass, the first in the His Dark Materials adaptation, and I was slightly saddened to see how much it looked like a blend of Harry Potter and Narnia… I really wish they’d focus less on the glorious fantasy vistas and more on the incredibly strong characters and story. The casting seems pretty decent at least, with Daniel Craig beardied up as the gruff professor and Nicole Kidman as [ice queen bitch from hell] Ms Coulter. I can’t wait to see how much of the church bashing makes it into the final cut (probably not much, but here’s hoping).