I try not to compare movies to their respective books...otherwise you are always disappointed. That said, I think David Yates did an amazing job. Yes, there are some missing scenes (some that are arguably essential for story continuity in the seventh movie). Yes, there are some new (and somewhat gratuitous) scenes. However, there are many scenes that stick very closely to the book. Overall, I think they did an amazing job of putting almost 700 pages of text into 2.5 hours. The added humor was also a bonus! I think this is the best one yet, and I can't wait to see the opening sequence in IMAX 3D!!