Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
PG
2 hours, 33 minutes
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, and Alan Rickman
The sixth installment is finally here. Yes fanboys and fangirls, this is a time to rejoice! In the latest venture of Harry Potter series we see the ramifications of Voldemort return as well as a conspiracy to uncover. I wish I could say more without ruining the plot, but I’d rather you enjoy your movie experience void of spoilers! (That’s for those of you who refuse to read the books, but faithfully follow the films)
Out of all of the Harry Potter films I would have to say that this one is my absolute favorite! I know that there are a great deal of Harry Potter fanatics out there that would disagree with me. There were some liberties taken with the transfer from book to film, enough so to make any die hard cringe.
As stern as I can be about my movies and how I judge them, I take particular care when watching a adaptation. What I love most about books and movies are the story telling. Frankly, the way that you tell a story in a book is much different than that of a film. Time is a big factor and pacing is approached much differently.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince had the best pacing and interest level of any of the movies before it. What tends to happen is that the moments happen in the movie, simply because they happened in the book. As a result the moments are stale because they lack emotional involvement or an analytical view of why this particular scene is important to the plot or characters. In a movie, you have to make every second count. There wasn’t a single point in the Half Blood Prince where one moment didn’t logically lead to the other or aide the overall story, or lend to the growth of a character.
Yes, I will admit that I was disappointed by the lack nitty-gritty details that fans adore. What is important is that the overall story was communicated to the audience. A better explanation of the meaning behind the character of the Half-Blood Prince would’ve been nice and that is my biggest complaint of the movie as a whole. However, if you’re only a follower of the movies, you won’t even notice and enjoy the movie a great deal.
At the end of the day we still have two full length movies to tie this rather epic story up. Warner Brothers made a great move in splitting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows into two parts. I have confidence that the large part of Voldemort’s back-story, which was noticeably missing from this one, will be in these last installments.
4 out of 5
I should be seeing it tomorrow with Japanese subtitles!
Where do you think they should split the next movie?
One possibility is right after Ron breaks the locket…some cite the Malfoy mannor, but that’s a little late I think…
I think after the locket break is a good place. The whole thing is a little tricky in general. I think as long as it’s at a cliff hanger they should be fine. The audience should be left wondering if they are going to succeed, but we leave off at a place where is looks hopeless.
I totally agree with you on them getting the crucial parts of the story down pat for this film. They have done a great job setting up for the next films, while leaving enough room to make it flow.
My only complaint is about the end of this film. Frankly, it was very anticlimatic in my eyes. This, of course, is in comparison to the book. Where one there is a huge fight scene, adding greatly to the readers confusion and emotional wreckage, while the other, it just seems, unfinished. I feel as though we needed a little more action to keep the viewer interested. I saw the film with my Dad, who has not read any of the books, and he agreed with me. He definitely wanted more action at the end, and was a little confused.
Besides that, I feel it stuck extremely close to the nuts and bolts of the book.