[Malin] We saw HP6 and enjoyed it quite a bit. I think the acting was really top-notch, better than in any of the other films, and I think I've discovered the secret to enjoying this movie. You have to look at it as part one of a trilogy (the last two being the two-part seventh book). Most of what goes on plot-wise that doesn't involve people snogging is prelude and setup for the last book, as opposed to the previous films, which were all fairly self-contained. So one of the more common complaints I've heard, that the climax isn't really a climactic climax, makes sense in this context. It's not. It's the inciting incident (film school talk) for the main story, which we'll get to see next year and the year after.

Rolo also commented that this could have been Draco's movie. I think he's right (he usually is), but I think we needed to see the relationships. It makes the characters more human and raises the stakes for the final battle.

The one thing I kind of regret is that they were unable to make Voldemort a presence the way JKR did in the book, even though he didn't appear in person at all. When he's mentioned, it's fairly off-handed, and we don't really see people living in terror of him (Slughorn excepted, but we didn't know him before, so we can't really tell). It would've been nice to see the Weasleys, say, being much more twitchy and paranoid; it would have been nice to see the scene with Snape/Narcissa/Bellatrix have a little more fear of the Dark Lord; it would have been nice to see Dumbledore imbue Harry with a bit more urgency.

The one plot quibble I have is actually from the book, so it's not a spoiler per se. But still, don't read on if you don't know the plot of the book.

( Plot spoiler )