I would have given this movie a full 5 rating, had it been closer to the book. I think that with the Harry Potter films, we have to look at them independently from the book, and here's why:

I adore the Harry Potter series, and I thought that they did an ok job with this film as it relates to the book. I really liked the effect that summing up the book through the Daily Prophet headlines. I thought that was a really fun and unique touch.

I do think, however, that there were some very fundamental portions of the book that they left out. While this book is my least favorite of the series, that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it. But the book lacks action throughout most of it, but when the action does occur towards the end, it is pretty intense and detailed, and necessary. I thought that the movie left out a major major chunk of the action that occurs in the book. The film focused on the "boring" parts of the novel, and seriously minimized all the action.

Also, if you haven't read the book, there are some parts of the movie that just don't make any sense. I think if you're going to leave out part of the book, you need to at least explain it in the movie and not make the assumption that everyone has read the book. Isn't it a bit shocking that there are still people out there who haven't read the Harry Potter series?

The movie is definitely worth seeing, and I'll probably see it again in a regular movie theatre (the 3d was a really cool effect, but the I-Max screen is so big that it's difficult to see everything that's happening).

The movie isn't available to own yet, but you can read the book:

Paperback ---------------- Hardcover ----------------- Unabridged audio CD