Finally saw this and now I'm thinking the main reason it was well reviewed was because it felt , in comparison to the other Potter movies, like a big step away from summer blockbuster popcorn flick and towards film critic fapbait for the franchise. It lacked most of the blockbuster popcorn flick staples that are typically critic repellent and spent most of its time focused on interpersonal drama instead. In fact I think most of the movie just relied on people talking to each other about typical movie drama stuff and getting depressed and/or upset about it. There was no real final battle like most of the movies have had, there was only really one heavy action scene (which itself felt out of place), and the ending was pretty much completely in favor of the antagonists.

I find myself wondering if the book was also this boring as an effort to help 'darken' the series or if the film producers just decided to go fishing for critical acclaim instead of summer movie fan interest.