Harry Potter and the Half-Garbage Prince
Written: Jul 14 '09 (Updated Jul 14 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Acting, Casting, Special Effects, Score
Cons: Adaptation from book to movie, Yates and screenplay.
The Bottom Line: Half-Blood Prince fails to impress this die-hard fan,and I wonder if others like me will feel the same.Yet another butchered adaptation of the book yields a movie that's half-garbage.
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| gatorgirlie's Full Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince |
I'm going to start off this review by saying a few things:
* Yes, I have seen the movie. I was invited to a special premiere showing at 7:30 pm last night in Orlando.
* IN WRITING THIS REVIEW, I'M ASSUMING YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IN THE BOOK. IT IS TOO CUMBERSOME TO WRITE AROUND THE PLOT WHEN MOST PEOPLE WHO SEE IT ALREADY KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.
That being said: If you HAVEN'T read the books, there are SPOILERS.
* Also, this review is written from a fan's perspective. I'm sure if you've never read the books, you'll like the movie.
*Has the director, David Yates, actually read the books he's supposedly basing his movies off of? I mean, by the end of Half-Blood Prince, I'd be shocked if he'd actually read it.
Now that I've gotten that out of the way, on to the review:
Plot Synopsis:
Times are darkening in the Wizarding world. The population knows Voldemort is at large and his henchmen are wreaking havoc on wizards and muggles alike. Dumbledore and Harry are following clues based on Voldemort's past to confirm a suspicion that Dumbledore has had since Tom Riddle's diary surfaced in Harry's second year... clues that will hopefully lead to Voldemort's ultimate destruction.
Acting / Casting:
First, I'd like to say how impressed I am with all the kids (now adults) who have worked on these films throughout the years. Their acting continually improves and they've really grown into their roles (especially Emma Watson and Danial Radcliffe).
One place I've never found fault in the Harry Potter universe is in the casting... It seems like the actors they find for their various roles are tailor-made for the characters (I couldn't imagine a better Snape or McGonagal), and that doesn't lapse here. The addition of Jim Broadbent as the new Potions professor, Horace Slughorn, was brilliant. It's tough to make someone look (and act) like a pompous walrus, but they did a pretty good job. I did have one problem with the woman cast as Narcissa Malfoy (Draco's mom) in that she didn't look anylike like how the book described her (um, isn't she a pretty blond... not a skunk?)... but that didn't affect her acting in a crucial early part of the movie. Daniel Radcliffe rose to the dramatic occasion nicely during the cave scene -- I was very impressed with how he carried off the concerned-and-scared-yet-determined demeanor that Harry had while forcing Dumbledore to drink the potion. Tom Felton (Draco) similarly rises to the occasion as a scared-and-desperate Malfoy recruited by Voldemort to do murder under the knowledge that if he failed, his entire family would be destroyed.
This is, in my opinion, the strongest part of all the HP movies. They've continually been able to bring in talented and brilliant people who fit into the roles with almost no problems... and with a fanbase as passionate and dedicated as the Potterites are, that's definitely saying something.
Acting / Casting Grade: A
Special Effects / Soundtrack:
Seriously, where would a Harry Potter movie be without special effects? Needless to say, the special effects in this movie were (once again) fabulous. The entire scene where Harry and Dumbledore go into the cave was masterfully done. The opening scenes with the destruction of the bridge and the kidnapping of Olivander were similarly well done.
The music was similarly well-done... I don't really have much to say on the score because I rarely pay attention to it during the movie.
It's hard not to give Special Effects/Score in a Potter movie an A, so I'm not going to.
Direction and Plot:
Yeah, you all know this part is coming, don't you? I said this movie was half-garbage because... well... it was.
The first half of the movie was pretty well done. I understand that not everything can make the conversion from book to movie, but the first half made a concerted effort to be true-to-the-book while moving the plot along. The two memories you're treated to see are very well done -- I especially liked the visit to the orphanage (which was pretty spot-on). They cut out the majority of quidditch, which was (again) ok and sacked the Dursleys at the beginning, for the sake of time constraints. The screenplay was fairly well-written in the beginning, including a lot of from-the-book quotes (which Yates seems almost loathe to do). The first part was cute and funny, eliciting quite a few laughs from the Pottermaniac audience. One thing that has always bothered me about Yates, though, is that he changes the personalities of the characters to suit him and he did that at the beginning of the movie (when Harry arrives at the Weasleys). Ron makes a statement that his mom doesn't want him going back to Hogwarts this year because she's worried.
Um, no. No she didn't. Stop it, Yates... just... Stop it.
Anyway... then... something weird happens... The Death Eaters attack the Burrough (the Weasley's home) over Christmas break.
Now, correct me if I'm wrong but... where does that happen in the book? I knew it was going to happen, as they show clips in the trailors but I assumed it served a higher purpose (such as explaining things that would have been tough to translate from book to movie)... only, it didn't. It didn't serve any purpose. Harry and Ginny run through corn fields and the DE set the house on fire.... then, Remus, Tonks, Molly, etc, all stand around and watch the house burn.
Um.... aren't you guys wizards? Can't you put the fire out? Nevermind... it is a Yates movie, it doesn't need to make sense. Anyway, we waste somewhere around 5 - 10 minutes with that inane drivel that served absolutely no purpose...
Really, after that... it's pretty downhill from there. Malfoy's botched attempts to kill Dumbledore were well done, and they did a good job on Harry's use of Felix Felicis.... but... well, let me list:
*The only two memories we see are Horace's Horcrux memory and the first one from the orphanage. There are no mentions of Hufflepuff's cup or Slytherin's locket. We never see Voldemort's mother nor learn much about the ring (which, I stared at and couldn't see any sign of a triangle, circle and line).
*Speaking of that... Harry didn't hide his potions' book... someone else did (not Hermione or Ron, either)... so we never get to see that ugly warlock wearing a wig with a beaten up tiara (which is KIND OF crucial in Deathly Hallows).
*When the real Horcrux memory is revealed, Dumbledore acts SHOCKED! Like he'd never thought of Horcruxes before!! WHAT?! No, the whole point of the memory was to confirm Dumbledore's suspicion that Voldemort made multiple Horcruxes... Oh, and Dumbledore actually saying "They can be anything... tin cans, etc" Um, that's actually the exact opposite of what he said in the book.
*Um... forgive me, but wasn't there a battle at the end? You know, one where Neville and Luna go to help the members of the Order who showed up to fight the Death Eaters there? Didn't Bill get mauled by Fenrir? Um, shouldn't we at least introduce Bill (as his wedding is in the beginning of Deathly Hallows)? Or, are we just going to omit the wedding or are we going to change it so that it is Remus and Tonks who get married?
You know, I could go on and on about this... but I'm really at my end. I can't fathom why Yates would make the changes he did. Why did not mention the few Horcruxes Dumbledore suspects (the cup and Nagini)? Why did they not show a passing glimpse of the tiara in the Room of Hidden Things? Why did they add a 5 - 10 minute segment at the burrough but delete some of the most important memories in the book (ie: Riddle working for Borgin and Burkes)? Why was there no fight at Hogwarts? Why leave out the end of the book (you know what end I'm talking about)?
Yates might be a good character director, but his vision of Harry Potter has this fan seeing red. Actually, wait... I can't even say he was a good character director. Why? Because he couldn't seem to get the necessary emotion out of them during certain scenes. Dumbledore was supposed to be horrendously weakened during his talk with Draco and Snape was supposed to be almost deranged during his brief scuttle with Harry... nothing. Anyway, because of his omissions, I can't quite figure out how he's going to work Deathly Hallows (at least Harry, in the books, knows kind of what he's looking for... if not where). The problem I encounter is this: Yates isn't necessarily a horrible director -- bad, I'll give you, but not horrible. He directs the actors passing fair (most of the time, when he's not going and changing the whole point of a scene by having an actor act out-of-character) and the overall camera work is superb. The movie's editing isn't jarring or choppy (though the occasional time jumps are a bit off)... but Yates is in charge of the story. He is the one adapting the book to the movie and choosing which scenes to include/cut... and that is the most miserable fail in the history of the Harry Potter series.
I give direction / screenplay a big fat FAIL.
Overall:
I can honestly say that the last half of this movie was bad enough that this fan won't be seeing the movie again in theaters, nor will I be purchasing the DVD. In fact, I'm probably not even going to bother with seeing Deathly Hallows. Yates will just ruin that movie like he ruined the Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince.
I cannot abide by a director who is trying to force his vision of what the book should be on the movie. When you're dealing with a franchise like this, you go with the flow and try to avoid changing too much... instead, Yates yields his heavy-handed approach as though he knows what's better for the series than Rowling originally did. Most of the changes were completely unnecessary (the Burrough attack) and the original scenes wouldn't have detracted from the pace nor (really) added any additional time to the movie (would it have killed Yates to have the true scene where Dumbledore confirms his suspicions about the multiple horcruxes and discusses the cup/snake/something of Ravenclaw/Griffindor).... it's just frustrating to see something twisted to fit Yates agenda ... and this isn't the first time it's happened either (remember the end of Goblet of Fire? Dumbledore's personality shift in GoF and OotP? the ending of the OotP?) so I don't expect him to stay true to the last book in the slightest.
Should you see it? I'm sure you will, even if I advise you not to so I won't.
Will you like it? Well... that depends. Have you never read the books? Then you'll like the movie. Did you like the way Yates changed OotP? You probably won't have any problems with this movie either.
Did you dislike the ending of OotP and felt that Yates changed too much? You won't like this one any more than you liked the other (actually, you'll probably like it less). If I were you, I'd save my money and wait until it comes out in the cheap theaters.
I'm giving this two-stars with the warning not to get your hopes up too high.
Recommended:
No
Movie Mood: None of the Above
Viewing Method: Sneak Preview at My Local Theater
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Plot
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gatorgirlie
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Location: Orlando, FL
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