Potter musings

So here we are at Harry Potter 5 and while Alfonso Cuaron's third film remains the best of the series so far, David Yates' movie is energetic, well-acted, wonderfully crafted and a darn sight better than the flabby last instalment. The script by Michael Goldenberg does a great job of distilling the 900-page book into managable size and Yates' naturalistic directing style sets the film apart from all that have come before. This is still a Harry Potter film but it feels different, not just because the themes are getting bigger and darker and more political, but because Yates gives the magical world a more realistic context. Dan Radcliffe is a more rounded, more emotional Harry, even if Imelda Staunton steals the show as nightmare in pink Delores Umbridge.