A marked disappointment after Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, this fourth installment in the franchise is a 157-minute holding pattern.
-J. R. JonesFull Review
[Newell] cannot do much about the slightly tired sadism that is creeping into the cracks of the Potter franchise.
-Anthony Lane
The special effects are first rate but I think it's always going to be about the characters. And they're great characters.
-Richard RoeperFull Review
It's always a treat to see what big-studio-franchise cash can produce in the way of top-flight British (and Irish) actors.
-David EdelsteinFull Review
Screenwriter Kloves deserves a tip of the wizard's hat for cutting Rowling's immense tome (636 pages) down to size, and for keeping the story moving despite a surfeit of characters and incidents.
-Peter HowellFull Review
Not just an efficient babysitter but a wizard of a movie.
-Richard CorlissFull Review