Harry Potter, Gandalf, Prof Xavier and X-Men

Wasn't the scene in which Dumbledore saves Harry from a watery grave just like Gandalf's battle with the Balrog in Lord Of The Rings?

Weren't the slimy creatures from the deep cousins of Gollum?

Wasn't the scene in which Dumbledore visits the young Tom Riddle pretty much a re-run of Prof Xavier's X-Men recruiting visit to young Jean Grey?

And, yes, Steve's spot-on by pointing out that the final scene was straight from Star Wars.

But there was a whole lot missing, given the constraints of the run-time.

In particular the climactic showdown at Hogwarts became an intimate affair rather than the all-out warfare depicted in the book, and in which several students died.

In the book, too, Harry was powerless to help Dumbledore because the Prof had cast a petrificus spell on him and covered him with the cloak of concealment.

That was the mirror image of the early scene in which Draco Malfoy did exactly the same to the schoolboy wizard on the Hogwarts Express, bringing things full circle.

The movie went for a rather lame 'Stay downstairs Harry, whatever happens' and you just know that he wouldn't have obeyed that order.

Overall, though, great movie - second only to Prisoner of Azkaban in the series.

And bravo Tom Felton. This is the first Potter film to be stolen by Draco Malfoy.