On the surface, it looks slick as ever: the special effects are wizardly and the cinematography is dark with menace. But while top directors such as Alfonso Cuaron and Mike Newell grabbed JK Rowling's sprawling novels by the scruff of the neck, TV director David Yates fails to pinch this one into shape. For a children's movie at 138 minutes, it has long passages that slouch without any real excitement. It sinks under the weight of the novel. Daniel Radcliffe now sports a body builder's frame, but still looks like an awkward teen. The film builds up to a confrontation with Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) . . . the dark wizard can roam inside Harry's thoughts so the boy must learn to discipline his mind. We also meet spacey new character Luna Lovegood, played by Evanna Lynch from Co Louth. Yates shows little facility for bringing the best out of his young players, but the professionals are a treat: Imelda Staunton steals the show as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. She's a frilly pink frump who brings iron authoritarianism to Hogwarts.

She has a flair for interrogation and torture. In reflection of its maturing audience, the psychological themes do get darker and more complex. But I suspect its more involved audience . . . younger children . . . will be frustrated with a film that broods like a sulky teenager.

A comprehensive review of Harry Potter and the Order Of The Phoenix will appear in next week's Review section