Best movie of the 6 that are out thus far – Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince doesn’t disappoint. Now I’m one for movies trying to stay as true to the fiction that they come from – and I think that the director of Half Blood Prince does as best as he could to do so. (with the help of his writers of course) There are so many characters in the Harry Potter stories that you can’t expect them all to make the final cut in the films – nor can the director stray away from what makes Harry Potter – Harry Potter. So it’s no surprise that some people might’ve been somewhat disgruntled by this latest film in the franchise, but I thought as far as a movie adaptation goes – it was pretty solid.

Sum It Up:

This movie picks up exactly right after the last film – Harry has just lost his uncle, the Death eaters are running a muck, and He Who Must Not Be Named is causing everyone to be on watchful alert. Harry and Co. are bustled back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and there are many things that have changed. Mainly the influence of teenage hormones. Amongst all the fear and loathing that is surrounding the grounds of Hogwarts, the adolescent teens are still finding times to “snog” in the corridors. Meanwhile Harry has been with Dumbledore to divulge in lessons of the past. By using the Pensive and the memories taken from certain individuals Harry is to piece together the puzzle to a big question. All of this leads to the gathering of what are referred to as Horcruxes and the sad ending of the film.

the Good:

My hats off to the special effects team this time around. First comment that came out of my mouth when the credits started to roll was that the CG and Visual Effects were so much better! Things that I complained about in previous Harry Potter movies such as Quidditch, or even CGI monsters etc. all seem but distant memories. This time Quidditch was actually amazing to watch and it looked fantastic. The effects from the wands whether it was a spell being cast, a curse being thrown or the simple illumination of the tip all seemed very real and a treat for the eyes. A lot of this movie is shot within the castle walls, but the few parts that were away from Hogwarts seemed epic in every sense of the word. Whether it was the Burrow or the cliffs in which Harry and Dumbledore find themselves as they search for the Horcrux – it all looked amazing. (compared all of the previous entries)

The acting has also grown better with time. This is obviously due to the cast maturing and growing with the characters that they’ve been playing for years. It can’t be all that hard to play as Hermoine Granger or Ron Weasley after doing it for over 7 years. Even so, it seemed like everyone knew the importance of how this film leads up to the remainder of the story and really tried to give it their best. Along with that – there were a few additional characters that got to stretch their acting talents quite a bit this time around. One in particular, that I was happy to see again (since in The Order of the Phoenix he practically didn’t exist) was Draco Malfoy. The kid who played him can actually act and he did very will in my opinion. I felt his anguish with the task that lay before him and his internal struggle. He delivered every line with a sinister snear and hatred towards Harry that we’ve all grown very accustomed to him having. He is every bit of what I had built up in my mind for that character and I applaud his efforts.

Now as everyone is aware – as with all the previous films – things must change in order for the story to work as a film. You can’t expect the writers and director to fit in every last little detail along with every last character mentioned. Granted while reading books we are able to build up great images of what everything would look like if we were to play it out – but when you go to make a film, it’s an important aspect that you try and stay as true to the text will maintaining the integrity of the movie. With that said, they change one big thing in this film and really only left other parts out in order to push the story along. This for me didn’t detract from my viewing pleasure (aside from the one big change) which made it much more enjoyable to watch. When I don’t have to go “aw man why did they do that?”, or “they completely left that out?! – why?!” … I tend to enjoy myself more. These were things I seemed to have asked myself more so during the previous films than I did with this one. So I compliment the writers and director.

Another thing with this film that I’d like to point out is that it’s almost as long as Transformers 2 and I actually never felt like it was stretched out. Funny how they are both fictional movies, with action, romance, humor, but one seemed to get the timing of events and overall pace better than the other. The Half Blood Prince seemed to get this almost exactly right every step of the way. Whether we were laughing at Ron being a dork, feeling sympathetic for Hermoine, or biting our nails as Harry and Dumbledore were frantically trying to get the next Horcrux – it all seemed to work together in a smooth fashion. Oh, and just to add this in there – I didn’t look at my watch once.

the Bad:

WHY IN THE HECK WOULD YOU PUT THE BURROW SCENE EVEN IN THIS MOVIE?!?!? Ok, so I know I said I was alright with the director/writers having to change things in order to make the story work in a limited time frame etc. for the sake of the film – but this was just stupid. It’s only one scene so that’s why I have to bring it up. We are at the Burrow (mind you this is where the Weasleys live) and the Burrow is attacked by Death Eaters. (aka: the bad guys) Basically what happens is that the Burrow is blown up and people have to scatter to new locations in order to be safe from He Who Must Not Be Named. Well that’s all fine and dandy – but it happens in the last book!!! Why do this? Why put an extra scene into a movie that is already complex enough and doesn’t need it. This scene actually doesn’t show anything to move the plot along except for the Harry and Ginny connection, which could’ve been done in a multitude of other ways. Plussssssssssssssssssssss, you could’ve taken that extra time and footage and put in something else that you ommited from the film. (aka: the beginning of the story involving the new Minister of Magic – duh.)

Ok enough ranting on that – moving on to a point that was made to me after we were outside of the theatre and chatting it up. It’s a great point and I give my father kudos for making it. If you haven’t read the books or seen the other movies then DON’T SEE THIS FILM. And yes, I understand that the director/studio was probably thinking that if you’ve seen the movies or read the books then this would be fine. Yet, this movie does not stand up on it’s own merit. It either needs the audience to be informed via the past movies or by being fans of the books. If you haven’t done either and go into this movie completely blind, you would probably think it’s one of the most stupid and idiotic pieces of film in a long while. Granted I and everyone I went with have read the books and have also seen all the previous movies but if you haven’t then I bid you good luck in keeping up.

To add to that – I also think that there was a lack of explanation for things. Sure they summed up stuff with quick little snippets here and there tossed in like sprinkles on a cupcake. But what if the fat kid ate all my sprinkles and I wasn’t able to get any? What if some innocent movie goer was watching and missed an important clue whether it was in a newspaper clipping or someone spoke it in a line directed towards Harry? Does that viewer not deserve to know what’s going on? It just seemed like they had to smash in so much in order to complete the story telling that they couldn’t be expected to explain everything in the detail it needed to be explained in. Yes, I have examples. For example – Who is Fenrir Greyback and why is he a death eater? How did Harry know how to use the thing he puts in Ron’s mouth to keep him from dying? What REALLY is a Horcux and why is it so important for Dumbledore/Harry to find them? Who the heck was the girl that got attacked by the necklace and where the bloody hell did it come from? These are all questions that I think the common moviegoer might ask while they are watching the movie that could’ve been explained with an extra 5 mins for each and you could’ve saved that time by taking out the BURROW SCENE! (oh yeah, see how I came full circle there – impressive eh?)

Also, and I know that I’ve read this in a few other reviews out there – but honestly, there might have been a bit much of the love stuff pushed upon us. From the get go we understand that all the adolescents have hit their peak interests in the opposite sex. We get that girls are interested in boys and vice versa. Yet it didn’t have to be the forefront of the movie. I would’ve rather had a little less of the “snogging” and a little more of the rest of the story brought to our attention.

I’ll also make a quick comment on the relationship between Harry and Ginny…rather – the lack of one. Sure there are a few really good awkward moments tossed in, but really we never see them make that “commitment” to one another and I was never sold on it to begin with – yet at the very end of the movie we’re told that Ron has given them his blessing and that he’ll be alright with them dating eventually. I mean come on – they had one peck on the lips and now we’re boyfriend girlfriend without really seeing them together afterwards? A bit of a stretch – but I digress.

Final Thought:

Yep even after my review I think it was a good movie. It wasn’t a great movie – nor was it the movie of the summer. (Star Trek is still holding strong there) Though, if you’ve seen the other films or have read the books, I think that you would enjoy this next chapter in the 8 film franchise. Granted there are a few key parts left out, and a really big part added in for no aparent reason other than to piss me off – but I enjoyed my time at the movie and that’s what counts.

Rating: 7.5/10