I heard a film reviewer say that there isn't much point doing a review of the new Harry Potter film because the people who love the book/film franchise are going to see it no matter what. That is very much true.

Will and I went this morning and I can say that I did enjoy it for it was, a Harry Potter film, but I was hugely disappointed by how very badly it was cobbled together. A lot happens in the book version of HP and the Half Blood Prince and really almost bugger all happens in the film. How is this so? How did they fill up 2 and half hours of cinematic time without really saying much of anything or having much action or progressing the story in any way?

The editing is shocking, one scene bumping into another in an almost comic manner. It looks to me like they tried to shoot the book staying true to the story, realised it would have turned into a 6 hour art house epic, then almost randomly chopped out bits here and there with the aim simply to fit into a limited time allowance.

I left wondering whether people who hadn't read the book were able to make heads or tails of the story. Apart from a great deal of focus on teenage crushes and "snogging" there was almost no mention of Voldermort. Worse still Voldermort's Horcruxes, which are arguably the point of this installment of the book, are explained only briefly, their full significance barely touched upon. Which makes me wonder how they'll be tackled in the Deathly Hallows.

To finish on a positive note I have to say the Quidditch scenes were excellent, the special effects obviously improving from film to film.

I know that Deathly Hallows is being filmed in two parts, hopefully allowing for a bit more focus on the intricate details of the story, but I do despair for it, my favourite of the books, if this is any indication of the contempt with which the production team is now treating its audience.