Harry Potter (again)

Well, I've now watched Harry Potter's 2,3,& 4, in the interests of research. I wanted a) to get a better idea of what the hell was going on no.5 as I hadn't a clue who anyone was or what was going on, and b) find out what all the fuss is about - get a feel for the zeitgest, I suppose.
I'm calling them by their numbers as I can't remember the titles of each individual film - I know what they are, but keep forgetting which one's which.
Anyway, back to the films. I enjoyed the 4th one the most, which I do remember is called HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It had a tighter narrative structure and a better defined plot. The others sprawled in an ungainly fashion and seemed to be a series of episodes and events rather than an actual story. I don't know if the book was better suited to a filmed narrative as I still haven't read any of them, and to be honest, I can't see myself spending any more time on the whole saga than necessary.
The 4th film had HP growing up, and it becomes clear that Daniel Radcliffe, unlike most of the other young people in the film, can actually act and so, as the central character, holds the film together well. I noticed that John Williams, the celebrated veteran film composer, did the music for this one, which means that the loud, insistent, syrupy music of the earlier films, isn't sprawled all over the action, another improvement, as it's now much more subtle and nuanced.
The director is Alfonso Cuaron, the Mexican director resonsible for The Children of Men, which I thought was an exceptionally fine film, and Y Tu Mama Tambien, which I haven't seen, but I've heard good reports about it.
Anyway, it was an interesting exercise, but I'm glad it's over. I'll watch the new film again at some point, but I'm not desperate as I've had enough of HPP for the moment. All the films are far too long - they would all be improved by tightening up; there are far too may scenes which go on and on and on unnecessarily. I would think that about half an hour could easily be lopped of each of them without destroying anything in the plot, and it would improve them enormously. The adult characters are a mixed bag; another plus point for no.4 was Gary Oldman's appearance as Sirius Black - he also appears in no.5. Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon and Maggie Smith are also reliably effective, and none of them make the mistake of hamming it up, which, unfortunately, neither Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson can resist doing. Honourable mentions, too, for David Thewlis and Ralph Fiennes, who although he doesn't feature much, exerts a suitably brooding and terrifying presence as the arch-villain, Voldemort. The secret in being an adult in a children's film, is to take it completely seriously, to approach it in the same way as any other piece of work, and this is the mark of the true professional. Most of the adults pass the test admirably, but Branagh and Thompson, I think, fail disastrously, both hamming it up - I found them virtually unwatchable.
I can see why kids love them - they have a strictly-defined universe, good and evil, the boarding school setting is irresistable and provides fodder for all sorts of sub-plots and minor character studies. The children are pretty good, and it's interesting to see them growing up, though Isome are doing it more successfully than others - I'm not sure about Ron, he's an OK actor, but an irritating character, though Hermione's blossoming nicely into an interesting personality.
Anyway, there we are - I'll now return to the 2 Werner Herzog box sets I've borrowed from one of my sons, with some relief.