I love the Harry Potter books and have seen a couple of the movies, my husband has read only the first book and I was worried that this one was going to be too complicated for someone who didn't have a lot fo background plot knowledge, but we both thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved seeing the people and places I knew come to life, and he enjoyed the action and the characters--says he didn't miss the background at all. Emma Watson's particularly great in this one!
My husband and I, who have a two year old, were extremely happy just to see a movie with no animation in it--we haven't seen a movie in a theater for so long we didn't know they have commercials now--but even given that, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie. Yes, Eastwood's character uses slurs we don't ,but it's wonderful to see Sue come right back at him. We laughed out loud at the scenes where he is teaching the boy next door "how real men talk." Form everything I read about this movie, I expected it to be dark, violent and depressing, but instead it was warm, human, dramatic and often laugh-out-loud funny. I'd see it again.