Pharoh

I read the books when my sons did so I could discuss them and found them to be very good stories, so I don't necessarily agree with with the amazing aspect of this particular book, however I do agree with the overall assessment of the movie. While it is a good movie, it really does a disservice to the book.

My two biggest complaints center around the portrayal of Harry and Dumbledore, which has to me been a series long problem. For five movies we have seen the movie character of Harry be built up to the chosen one, somebody actually capable of facing Voldemort. This was often in contrast to the books, particularly the early ones, where luck and circumstance were often the biggest contributor. I know they touch upon this in the films, but Harry was clearly a stronger more confident person in the movies than the book. Finally in the HBP book, we start to see a more confident and stronger Harry, one where readers can finally believe he has a true chance against the forces against him, albeit still requiring much assistance. Harry had truly grown into his life and role in it.

So why in the world does this movie strip all of that, neutering and greatly weakening him? He was essentially impotent in this movie, and it lessened my enjoyment immensely. A few small examples:



I don't think some of these would have been difficult to change, difficult to more properly portray Harry and his allies as the people ready to take on the task of facing the evils that await them. As the movies stand, I have zero confidence or belief that they can.


As for Dumbledore, I have always felt that the films do a very poor job of depicting him as strong as powerful as he was in the books. I don't think he comes across as the greatest wizard in the world, the one that all others including death eaters and voldemort are fearful of. I won't belabor this, but present two small changes from the current film:




Obviously expectations play a huge part in assessments, and my expectations were far from met. The drastic changes to the characters lessened significantly my view of the film. Perhaps though I am wrong in my views of the books, perhaps others disagree with my take on the film. Given my faulty memory and the time passed since I read the books it is entirely possible that I am out to lunch.

SleepyW

Without reading anyone else's reviews yet, here's mine (I'm waiting to be thrashed by the HP fanboys and girls):



I haven’t read the book, however, I’d heard some leakings of events after the book was released. Despite that, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was a long, predictable Lifetime Movie Network sleeper with most of the focus on the love stories. When the silly Quidditch match is the majority of the action for the entire sitting, you could be in for a bit of a nap.

Granted, the book is long and full of detail that can’t possible fit into a single film, but that is likely why, despite the 153-minute run-time, the scenes felt rushed and uneventful. The special effects were on pace with its predecessors – in that I mean they look like they were done 4-5 years ago.

Half-Blood Prince felt like nothing more than a long-winded, anti-climactic, somewhat scatter-brained set-up for the final movie(s). It is also the proud owner of what is likely to be the most unemotional death of a main character (especially considering one that’s been in 5 movies prior) in any A-list movie I’ve ever witnessed.

I give this movie a C+ only for the fact that it was necessary to know how events will unfold in the final chapter. But the content and mood of this installment would have been much better suited as a made-for-TV. If you’re not a hard core Potter addict, wait and rent the DVD.

BCorbett

I was very, very disappointed in this film. There was just so much changed/left out that in my opinion is crucial to the story and to the conclusion that it left an awful lot to be desired.

We learned almost nothing of Voldemort's horcruxes, unlike the book in which Dumbledore has put together all of that information except for the last 3 horcruxes. I thought the exclusion of several of the memories from the book (Voldemort's mother/father, Voldemort's employment at Borgin and Burke's, his return to Hogwart's) left out many key elements to understanding Voldemort and exactly what lies in store for Harry. Not having Harry frozen at the point of Dumbledore's death, the "flight of the prince" being so short and undramatic...I could go on and on.

The film was entertaining and all that, but I left the theater feeling very unfulfilled and disappointed.

The Bus

Reading these other reviews, it seems like I may have liked the film precisely because I had last read the book over a year ago (or more). And I didn't like the last film because I saw it right after I read the book.

Simple solution: don't see the film right after you've read the book.

bluetoast

I'm not saying 4 movies, 4 directors. It could just as easily have been 2 movies 2 directors, keeping Yates on as is, then a new person for the last two. It's not like the series is jarringly different with each new director in any case (to the point of being unwatchable), especially with Kloves on the script for the most part. The fact that the movies felt different is not necessarily a bad thing. Plus a lot of the time, even after the director has left the series, they have an influence on the next movie or so. Columbus stayed on as producer for Azkaban, and it was Cuaron who suggested that Goblet remain as one movie instead of being split.

I was mainly disappointed with the last movie and as such was like "Oh brother" when it was announced that this "new guy" would be doing the entire rest of the series. But after this movie, things appear to be a bit better.

NitroJMS

See, that's a big problem now with the Malfoy's story though. What was the point to the vanishing chest, if the Death Eaters weren't going to raise hell at Hogwarts? They just show up and do nothing. Malfoy and Snape could have carried out the plot without the chest, and still likely have made it out of there since they all kinda just run out with zero resistance other than Harry.

orangecrush

I haven't really noticed her in prior movies, but after reading your post, I couldn't keep my eyes off of Bonnie in this movie.

I really liked the film. I too think that the end was more abrupt than I would have prefered and there was a little too much teen romance. But overall, I was very satisfied with it. I even scence that wasn't in the book.

Drop

Well it's a security issue isn't? Hogwarts was supposed to be safe, and it was just proven unsafe. In many ways that's worse than any damage they did do (and they did do some damage in the film).

GenPion

Your spot on here. It was laughably bad how this was portrayed in the film. It was nothing like it could have been based on the book. Where were all the death eaters fighting everyone at Hogwarts with total chaos ensuing for all? This was yet another major missed opportunity.

Kal-El

I see your point there, but I guess I'll chalk that up to the fact that Bellatrix and the others never fully trusted Snape and thought that Malfoy could never really pull off the task. So they were there as the back-up to the back-up. If Snape didn't do it and died as a result due to the Unbreakable Vow, then they could've all ganged up on Dumbledore.

orangecrush

I would agree with you in the first 4 movies. Though, I think the duel in film 5 and the cave scence in this film did a lot to convey the power of Dumbledore. I suspect that

orangecrush

I think that the film makers choose to not show that so that the I could be wrong though.

Merkin Muffley

I agree...it might seem repetitive. At first I was a little disappointed they left it out. But after thinking about it, I applaud the filmmakers for practicing a little restraint.

Anubis2005X

Agreed, otherwise it would be like the Death Star showing up in Return of the Jedi.

I think people need to realize that this is a movie adaptation. You have 2.5 hours to throw in as much as you can and still make it an enjoyable experience. I haven't read the book since it came out, and I'm glad I haven't, as it's good to go in fresh and enjoy what's there.

pinata242

That's a good point. I didn't like it in the book, personally, so I was ok with its omission in the movie. That said, if it was going to be changed so much, there was no need for their inclusion.

Supermallet

Surely you jest. None of the Harry Potters are great literature. Of the seven, Goblet of Fire is the best written, but they all have their problems. Rowling came up with a good set of stories, but her writing is often dreadful. And out of all the books, Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince are perhaps the worst. The first two are simplistic, but at least they're short and have some fun aspects to them. Five and six are so long and bloated. Even with Dumbledore's death six felt anti-climactic.

Is the movie perfect? No. But I think you're highly overestimating the quality of the book when you make your comparisons.

GenPion

My opinion is what it is. My opinion. I love J.K. Rowling's writing and the sixth was my favorite and to me I felt it featured many of the most important thematic elements of the entire series, elements that were not on display here.

Anyway - on to the good news - Nicholas Hooper will not be returning to score Deathly Hollows. John Williams is poised to return!

As taken from Mugglenet:

According to JWFan.net, Nicholas Hooper will not return to score Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Hooper has composed the soundtracks for both Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince.

The post states that the films have put "too great a strain on his family life" and that he believes a "certain composer" [John Williams] should complete the series he started.

Supermallet

Uch, John Williams can kiss my ass. I'd almost rather see Chris Columbus return.

As for Rowling's writing, it's hilariously bad at times. She picks a word for each book and over uses it to the point where it becomes obnoxious. For example, in the first book, everyone is always turning a different shade of red. If they're embarrassed, happy, sad, sneezy, tired, anything, they turn some shade of red. In Half-Blood Prince, IIRC, everyone is always "beaming" at each other. I wonder if Rowling understands what the definition of the word "beaming" as it relates to facial expressions, because people generally only beam under the happiest of all circumstances. In Half-Blood Prince, everyone is busy beaming at each other you'd think they'd have to have a class just for jaw exercises.

Again, Rowling is not a bad story teller, but she's certainly not a great writer, and I can't imagine any Harry Potter movie becoming "one of the best movies of all time." But that's just my opinion.

asianxcore

Felt that way about Book 6 as well, though I know you mentioned you didn't read the books.

Though Book 6 had some great moments, I've always felt that it was written to mostly as filler to Book 7 (which I'm reading right now).

Anubis2005X

Pity, I rather liked Hooper's music, especially the score from HP5...

Goldberg74

I saw it this afternoon and was completely underwhelmed.

I give it 3 stars (or a C).

I hate that they reduced "The Half Blood Prince" part of the story to a measly three scenes and a stupidly "Luke-I'm-your-father"-like delivery of the revelation.

Sure I liked the movie... and the pacing was good, I just wish that they would have focused on a few different things.

... oh, and Jim Broadbent was fantastic as Slughorn.

tofu

Just saw it tonight and I thought it was good. The visual style and the music especially really set the tone for the movie. There was a lot missing from the book but whatever, if they tried to include everything, the movie would have been like 7 hours long.

Also, the acting seemed to be much much better than the previous films. I guess the kids took some classes in between the last movie and this one.

Patman

I found the 6th installment of the Harry Potter film franchise to be too reliant of the quick button-hook laughs as it went from scene to scene in the opening act, while trying to lay the foundation of the ominous plans of the dark prince, moving chess pieces in place, playing with the souls of characters in this battle of light and dark powered by magical machinations.

The film has many problems, as the main 3 characters (Harry, Hermione, and Ron) don't really have much to do beside provide comic relief scenes stemming from teeenage love triangle angst, and even the supporting Hogwarts characters have even less to do, which was too bad. The insertion of the new teacher at Hogwarts, Professor Slughorn, was too ham-fisted in light of his contribution to the overall plotline. The last 45 minutes were a chore to sit through because it was just flat-out boring. At 150+ minutes, the film was just too long given the plot points covered. The film short-changes the "Half-Blood Prince" angle too.

Daniel Radcliffe hasn't improved all that much in the acting department, which was disappointing, perhaps Director Yates just wasn't interested in getting a better acting performance from him. To me, it just leads to this meandering lacksadaisical energy to the film. Plus, he still plays Harry as the accidental wizard without as much confidence or conviction he should have at this point in the series. Now, not everything was poorly done, there are some nicely composed shots in the film, with some interesting lighting as the dark minions do what they do best, and Hogwarts early colorful palette from the previous film has been transitioned into a more muted color palette to bolster the simmering darkness a-brewing.

I give it 2.5 stars, or a grade of C+.

story

I haven't read any of the books and never will. I've seen all of the movies except Order of the Phoenix. I thought this was the funniest of the HP films and fairly enjoyable. There were a few manufactured "cute" moments that played to complete silence to a fairly-packed house and the ending felt rushed and it was obvious something was missing. Oh, and why don't wizards know a spell to put out a fire?!

My order:
1. Prisoner of Azkaban
2. Half-Blood Prince
3. Goblet of Fire
4. Sorcerer's Stone
5. Chamber of Secrets
N/A Order of the Phoenix

cranberries fan

Suprmallet what gives you the right to talk down John Williams what film scores did he burn you on!

List them if you would please.