Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince review

The much anticipated sixth installment of the Harry Potter saga has finally arrived and I, along with probably millions of other nerds, was in attendance for the midnight release, as I have been for the majority of the films. This, however, is the first time I have had a blog so I figured I would again join the ranks of millions and offer my humble opinion of the film.

SPOILER ALERT: DISCONTINUE YOUR READING OF THIS BLOG IMMEDIATELY IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO KNOW THE ENDING OF THIS MOVIE

Before I begin I will say that I long ago gave up hope that the movies would stay true to the books, and the people who constantly complain about there being so much left out need to come to grips with reality. Movies rarely live up to the books they are based off of. It's just the way things go so get over it and move on.

Ok, here we go...

I think the movie starts out pretty strong with the whole Death Eaters reeking havoc thing. My only criticism (and this comes from Order of Phoenix as well) is that the Death Eaters are flying...isn't that something that only Voldemort is supposed to have accomplished (according to Deathly Hallows)?

Bring on Daniel Radcliffe. I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised. There's a little more professionalism in his acting and I'm liking it. Still not sold on Michael Gambon as Dumbledore though. Oh well. Actually I think all of the returning actors have a little bit more finesse in their approach to their respective characters.

Enter what is soon realized as the main focus of the movie: awkward teen romance. I actually thought they pulled this off brilliantly...in large part due to the improvements in their acting. The comedic relief that this brings to the story is refreshing and I'm guessing the writers focused on this aspect of the story to bring some light to an otherwise dark story (much like they tried in Prisoner of Azkaban). Jessie Cave is great as Lavender Brown.

Thank you for bringing back Quidditch. I thought Rupert Grint (Ron) was fantastic in the tryout scene and the game. Hysterical.

The surprise attack on the Burrow was random but the whole mystery and suspense of walking through the tall marsh grass and reeds was kind of cool. Totally unnecessary but I think they put it in because of what they took out at the end of the movie (more to come on that later).

I can't believe I'm saying this, and I hope my friend Mary doesn't read this, but I loved Tom Felton (Draco) in this movie. He's obviously got a more prominent role, but does a brilliant job of portraying the weight of the situation and the stress of the task that's been entrusted to him. It's enhanced by the comedy that the other characters are involved in but I think he does a great job in that role.

I loved the scene in the cave when Harry and Dumbledore were going after the horcrux. The inferi were awesome and I loved that pretty much the entire theatre knew one of them was going to grab Harry as soon as his hand went into the water yet the whole place jumped (myself included) when it happened. The underwater shot was magnificent and then Dumbledore raging with his fire power!!

So as I'm nearing the end of the movie I am actually really liking it. There are a few things I would have liked to see done differently:

1) I think they should have given just a little more time to introduce Fenrir Greyback, other than the brief sweep of the Wanted poster in Diagon Alley. People who haven't read the books will be confused as to who that big, out-of-character-for-a-Death-Eater, guy is. It's a great portrayal of him but who the heck is he?

2) I know you're not following the book exactly but can you at least get some of the small details right...Felix Felicis is GOLD!!!!!!!!! not clear. And you can't apparate on the Hogwarts grounds!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr...that should have been an easy one.

3) I was really hoping they would spend some more time on Harry diving into (literally) the life of Tom Riddle before he was Voldemort. It was such a fascinating part of the book and I think plays such a crucial role in Harry's quest to find the horcruxes during Deathly Hallows. Hero Fiennes Tiffin and Frank Dillane are awesome as the young Tom Riddles. I wish we could have seen more.

Ok, on to the end of the movie. Basically they rushed it. I think they just ran out of time and tried to cram everything into the last few minutes like they had a time limit. The run time is right at about 2 and a half hours...add the stinking extra half hour and get the ending right. I sat through 3 hours of King Kong!!! I can most certainly sit through an extra 30 min of Harry Potter...especially given the intensity of the end. I really wanted that battle at Hogwarts with the Order of the Phoenix members coming in.

In every movie Harry always seems to recklessly but bravely run into a dangerous situation, which he does at the Burrow (see above), but when it counts the most, when his hero, the man he looks up to pretty much as a father, the man he's sworn his undying loyalty to time and time again is in mortal danger, he passively sits on the sidelines and watches him die simply because Dumbledore asked nicely and said "Please." NO!!!! I wanted him to be pissed, horrified, angry, upset, furious, etc. etc. because he was detained against his will.

And then the flight of Severus Snape...OMG, he's the half-blood prince? Oh well. Move on. End of movie. WHAT?!?!? That should have been the pinnacle!! The book/movie are named for that moment and it lasted all of like 5 seconds...are you kidding me!!!???

Wow! So yeah, like I said before, I was really enjoying the movie right up until Dumbledore and Harry got back from the cave. It was all just so anti-climactic and sadly the ending for this book is almost more dramatic and significant than the ending of Deathly Hallows. I just hope they don't screw that one up.

So anyway, that is my long-winded review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I am definitely going to see it again, and it will be in my movie collection as soon as it is released on DVD. Was I disappointed? A little. But overall, very good movie!!