Ever since David Yates has taken over the Harry Potter films I have always had something, or many, good things to say about the movies. I obviously have criticisms too, but they are mainly about the story line chosen in the latest movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I also have a few things to say about the whole Harry Potter phenomenon that I noticed or realised when I went to go see the latest movie released. I will start with the phenomenon as I have positive things to say and that makes a goood start =) .
I went to go see HP and the Half-Blood Prince alone and I believe that is why I was aware of what I am about to tell you. I didn’t have anyone to complain or praise with so I had half an eye on the other spectators.
I found it brilliant how somehow, you seemed to fell that everyone knew the story. everyone knew what was coming. It was the case for example, when Dumbledore and Harry are in the cave, looking for one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes. Harry has just finished feeding the poisonous potion to Dumbledore and is bending over to get some water out of the lake. We all knew, you could feel it, that an Inferni was coming, yet we all jumped when it showed itself! Brilliant feeling!
I also found that the special effets were first class and a real pleasure to look at. The dialogues were really funny too and the whole room, me along with them were laughing well. BUT, that is where the problem begins, in a way.
Most of the laughs were related to teenager hormones surfacing, which is normal, the characters are 16 or so and can’t wait to land there first kiss, if they haven’t yet, or even have their fisrt tries at relationships, if you could so call them. This is all very funny, but at the end f the movie I realised that there was too much hormones and not enough of other things.
I am thinking of Harry’s sessions with Dumbledore to explore memories of Voldemort. Or the rest of the gloom, now that everyone is supposed to have acknowledged that Voldemort has indeed returned. Yet everyone seems to be in a pretty good mood when not under attack. Slightly odd.
Now about the story line and my problems with it. I found it generaly good, but there were quite a few things that were missed too.Like the fact that Ginny’s character was little developped. Harry and Ginny were literally dating. On the screen all they share relationship wise, is a kiss! A relationship resumed to a kiss, what do you know! You see the interest, the things before the kiss between harry and Ginny, then you get nothing. he doesn’t even properly break up with her at the end of the movie, as I was expecting, having read the book.Harry just tells Ron and Hermione what he will do now that Dumbledore is gone. he barely resists them when they say they want to come too and Ginny seems to no longer exist. Might I add that I only perceive this as an error in the story line, I do not see daniel Radcliff’s portrayal of Harry in this movie as macho.
Also, the Burrow is attacked for no reason that I can see at the beginning of the movie. Why do the Death eaters attack them then? No one knows, or at least no one told us during the movie. And at the end of the movie the Death Eaters come to Hogwarts, kill Dumbledore and meet absolutely no resistance whatsoever when they leave! People are just sad, so sad for Dumbledore that they let Hagrid’s cabin burn! (where was hagrid anyway at that point?) There was supposed to be a fight between Harry’s friends and the Death eaters! Bill supposed to be badly mutilated to the face. Snape was supposed to reveal that he was the Half-Blood Prince. Where did that essential last bit go?
Finally, the scenes to explain the vanishing cabinets were goood and I liked how it was shown that Malfoy was in trouble and not really happy about it. A sort of victim really, which was in the book, so congrats. But really, I think we all got the ideaof how the cabinets work, even kids.
To conclude, I say it is time to get the books out of the cabinet and stay even closer to them for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Despite all my criticisms, I am eagerly looking forward to the next movie and pleased that it will be in two parts! So good luck to everyone involved in the film making and thank you JK Rowling for the stories you have brought to us. Our world will never be the same agaiin, thanks to you.
Whatever you reader may have to say, let me know in a comment below, I will be reading up =) .