Things I liked best: the DA training, and Harry's occlumency lessons (Alan Rickman is fantastic!) Nice touches: Ginny giving Cho Chang a dirty look as Cho is talking to Harry; Sirius calling Harry "James" by mistake during the fight at the Ministry. What I didn't like: Harry's talk with Dumbledore at the end was too short, and left too much out; and, in general, too much was left out. The nice little touches needed the extra scenes for a casual viewer to understand their significance, IMHO.
It all went by very quickly! One fun thing we experienced is that there was apparently at least one young lady watching who hadn't read the book, because she kept exclaiming at various points, such as when Harry received his expulsion letter, and again when Harry was cleared at the Ministry hearing. :-)
After seeing more of Mrs. Weasley in this one, and seeing Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix, I can't wait to see their fight in the DH film! ;-)
Meow! The casting overall has been a delight.
I saw OotP with three of my kids yesterday, and my reactions were very similar to yours. I liked the actors for the newly-introduced characters, especially Luna Lovegood. She was perfectly goofy, and yet charming. And I thought having Kingsley Shacklebolt as a posh Kenyan was cute, although not exactly as I’d imagined him; I was thinking more Bahamian, in the very latest three-piece suit. (My son said leather coat, and shades ...)
Helena Bonham Carter was perfect as Bellatrix. I hope the movie of Half-Blood Prince will give her more screen time.
I agree that WAY too much was left out ... but what was in there, was quite well done. The in-your-face direction was a bit of a nuisance to me: I kept thinking, “Pull back, and let them breathe!” And I thought the fight at the end sacrificed character for special effects.