HP & the Half-Blood Prince movie reviews-SPOILERS

Okay, after seeing the movie last night and mulling over it all day, I decided to write down my thoughts, just to get it out of my system. Feel free to leave your own comments, and tell me if you think I’m wrong…(I’m not, but you can try to tell me, lol, jk).
However, just a warning…if you haven’t seen it yet, and don’t like spoilers, please don’t read. I made a new thread to make sure no one reads this by mistake that doesn’t want to be spoiled.

Okay, here we go…

I have to admit that, this being my favorite book in the series, I went in expecting a bit of a disappointment, which was definitely realized. As a stand alone movie; that is, looking at it totally apart from the book, it was pretty great; action, adventure, humor and romance. However, as far as following the book and setting up the final chapter of this wonderful tale, I was disappointed. I wanted to love this movie, but I didn’t. I like it very much, but I don’t love it. And that makes me sad.

Obviously a book of this size had to be cut down, and I have no issue with a lot of things that were left out…for instance, though I would have liked to see the Dursley’s in the opening scene, I could do without. Some people online have mentioned Bill and Fleur, but they really weren’t integral to the storyline and it doesn’t really affect the story. Tonks and Lupin being a couple, which someone was quite vocal in making sure everyone knew didn’t actually happen till Deathly Hallows, really didn’t bother me, and again, has no real bearing on the story. And leaving out the funeral seemed like a wise decision to me, it would just take up time without really resolving anything.

There were, however, some things that were left out that I felt were extremely important to the story itself, and for setting up DH.

- More memories. No mention at all of Voldemort’s father, or the Gaunt’s. At the very least, Dumbledore and Harry should have talked about this important part of Voldemort’s background. I mean, there was no explanation of his horcruxes; where they came from, why they were significant, and why he chose them. So Harry’s supposed to just set off in DH to look for more horcruxes with no idea of even where to begin to look, or what he’s looking for? *shrugs*

- Snape. Harry uses Snape’s own spell and almost kills Malfoy, and he lets him go without a word? Uh uh. This is Snape we’re talking about. There is NO WAY he would let that go unpunished. Does it have a bearing on the rest of the story? Perhaps not, but to me, it was way ooc, and very anti-climactic, considering I loved the rest of the scene. And a very boring way for the story of the Half Blood Prince’s book to end.

- Speaking of which…where was the HBP? From ‘This Book is the Property of the Half-Blood Prince’, to Snape saying ‘I am the HBP’…there is nothing in between. Barely a mention of who he might be. Again, not necessarily needed to set up the last book, but I just thought, considering it was the freakin’ title, that there would be just a bit more explanation.

- The Room of Requirement. Okay, so they gave up Harry’s frantic dash to the RoR to find a place to hide the book from Snape for the touching love scene between Harry and Ginny. But where was the tiara? How do you set up Harry finding the horcrux in DH if he never saw it in the first place while hiding the book?

- Speaking of Harry and Ginny’s kiss…since it happened in the RoR, without anyone else around, I thought it was a bit odd that Hermione just came out with ‘Ron’s okay with you and Ginny’ in the last scene. It was just out of the blue, and left me wondering how on earth Ron even knew.

- No Order of the Phoenix/Dumbledore’s Army versus the Death Eaters fight scene in the end. There was a chance to get some excitement going, but…nothing.

- Dumbledore’s death. No matter what Dumbledore told Harry, I just can’t see him standing by and letting Snape kill him without at least making his presence known. That’s why in the book, he had to stupefy Harry to make sure that he wouldn’t do anything; even Dumbledore knew Harry wouldn’t let it happen without a fight.

- Finally…the only thing that I actually hated about the movie. The Christmas at the Burrow. WTH? Bellatrix just shows up and sets the house on fire? Harry and Ginny running around in the field? Not to mention Fenrir Greyback, whose presence, btw, should have every person who hasn’t read the book scratching their heads saying, ‘who was that, and why was he even there?’. Would Bella do something like that? Absolutely. But why would you make up something that didn’t happen in any way, shape or form, and put it in the movie, then cut something as important as Voldemort’s past and the horcruxes? It just really made no sense at all.

Wow…reading back, it sounds like I hated the movie, which is not true. I did enjoy it, and there were parts that I loved…

- Ron under the love potion’s spell.
- Harry under the spell of Felix Felicis.
- The Quidditch Match.
- Hermione’s jealousy and Ron’s puzzlement.
- Harry and Dumbledore at the cave.
- Voldemort. He was a really creepy kid…lol.
- Luna Lovegood. I love her, and wish she was in the movie more.
- The scene with Katie being cursed by the necklace.
- Harry and Malfoy’s duel in the bathroom.
- All the character’s progression…I love seeing them now, and how they’ve grown.

I’m sure there is more, I just can’t remember everything right at the moment. All in all, I did enjoy it, and am looking forward to seeing how they end everything with the last two movies.

I have to agree with you Fly, there were some things I would have loved in the movie that weren't in there. and the Burrow scene was really pointless. and I loved everything you mentioned (sp?) that you loved to. I would have really loved to have had Dumbledore's funeral and Harry/Ginny spliting up just because people who haven't read the book might wonder 'wth is going on? weren't Harry and Ginny going out in the 6th?' in the 7th. and I really would have loved to have seen more of the memories.

at the Burrow scene, Tonks said 'sweetheart' to Lupin before Bella showed up. I was like, 'what? they aren't even dating yet!' that's what really bugged me.

Fenrir Greyback, there was a poster around Borggin and Burks saying his name and had his picture so I think they might have known how he was.

Yeah, I saw the poster, but I think we noticed it more because we have read the book. Otherwise, I think others would have probably just skipped over it, not realizing it's importance.

okay, so I'm torn. I'm too invested in the series to NOT see the movie, but I need an honest opinion - should I wait a few months and snag the DVD and watch it then or should I fight the crowd and see it now? If I'm going to be yelling at the screen "WTH People?" then tell me to wait, otherwise I'm seeing it this weekend.

RM

THX1138 wrote:okay, so I'm torn. I'm too invested in the series to NOT see the movie, but I need an honest opinion - should I wait a few months and snag the DVD and watch it then or should I fight the crowd and see it now? If I'm going to be yelling at the screen "WTH People?" then tell me to wait, otherwise I'm seeing it this weekend.

RM

Well, I wouldn't wait if I were you. It's worth seeing...it was just disappointing for me. And actually, other than the silly woman behind me, I really didn't have an issue with anyone in the crowd.

flyersfan35 wrote:

THX1138 wrote:okay, so I'm torn. I'm too invested in the series to NOT see the movie, but I need an honest opinion - should I wait a few months and snag the DVD and watch it then or should I fight the crowd and see it now? If I'm going to be yelling at the screen "WTH People?" then tell me to wait, otherwise I'm seeing it this weekend.

RM

Well, I wouldn't wait if I were you. It's worth seeing...it was just disappointing for me. And actually, other than the silly woman behind me, I really didn't have an issue with anyone in the crowd.

Whew, thanks. I've heard mixed reviews. One couple saw it and had a list of complaints a mile long and told me not to bother, another couple said it wasn't as good as Order but better than Prisoner so that makes it a go. It's such a complex and involved book I knew they were going to have to cut the hell out of it for the movie, I'm just glad it's worth seeing.

RM

THX1138 wrote:

flyersfan35 wrote:

THX1138 wrote:okay, so I'm torn. I'm too invested in the series to NOT see the movie, but I need an honest opinion - should I wait a few months and snag the DVD and watch it then or should I fight the crowd and see it now? If I'm going to be yelling at the screen "WTH People?" then tell me to wait, otherwise I'm seeing it this weekend.

RM

Well, I wouldn't wait if I were you. It's worth seeing...it was just disappointing for me. And actually, other than the silly woman behind me, I really didn't have an issue with anyone in the crowd.

Whew, thanks. I've heard mixed reviews. One couple saw it and had a list of complaints a mile long and told me not to bother, another couple said it wasn't as good as Order but better than Prisoner so that makes it a go. It's such a complex and involved book I knew they were going to have to cut the hell out of it for the movie, I'm just glad it's worth seeing.

RM

Well, obviously I had my complaints, if you couldn't tell by my rant, lol. But it's good. I just wish they had done a bit more with it...they really should have split that one up like they are doing for DH. But as a fan, you really can't not see it. At least, that's my opinion.

Well your complaints mirrored couple #1 which is why I was interested in your opinion on the matter. I'm just glad they are splitting DH into two films because there's just NO way they could get that into one coherent movie unless they made it 3½ hours long and even then it'd be lacking.

RM

THX1138 wrote:Well your complaints mirrored couple #1 which is why I was interested in your opinion on the matter. I'm just glad they are splitting DH into two films because there's just NO way they could get that into one coherent movie unless they made it 3½ hours long and even then it'd be lacking.

RM

Yeah, I'm glad too. And despite my issues, I did like most of it, and I still stand by my opinion that it's still worth seeing. It does have it's redeeming qualities. I hope you feel the same way.

I'll let you know after Saturday. We're doing the midnight show so we can avoid the tweens, at least that's the plan.

RM

I went to see HP at midnight (on the 15th) and I (as a huge fan) thought it was really lacking continuity to the book. Here's my list:

*NO one, I repeat NO ONE (in the book) knew about Harry's love for Ginny. In the movie, Hermione suddenly just knew!

*Like Fly said, they didn't go into why he was the HBP. It was just like this book is property of the HBP. Couldn't find anything in the library. I'm the HBP. Those were the only times the HBP was mentioned.

*The movie was sooooo relationship driven. It was (in a weird way) kinda like Bones. Like how DB always says, "It's more of a comedy/romance/character show with a case thrown in on the side." Although this time (for the movie) it's, "It's more of a high school relationship story, with some obstacles thrown in to make a plot. With the obstacles being Slughorn, Voldemort, Death Eaters, and Dumbledore.

After the movie, I was dissappointed with the lack of continuity. However, I again agree with Fly. Take the movie just as a movie, and it's amazing. But, put it against the book, and it sucks. I also loved Lavander Brown. I thought her character was very funny.

And as a little tidbit, I personally thought the movie should have been called "Harry Potter and the Relationship Troubles" instead of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."

THX1138 wrote:

flyersfan35 wrote:

THX1138 wrote:okay, so I'm torn. I'm too invested in the series to NOT see the movie, but I need an honest opinion - should I wait a few months and snag the DVD and watch it then or should I fight the crowd and see it now? If I'm going to be yelling at the screen "WTH People?" then tell me to wait, otherwise I'm seeing it this weekend.

RM

Well, I wouldn't wait if I were you. It's worth seeing...it was just disappointing for me. And actually, other than the silly woman behind me, I really didn't have an issue with anyone in the crowd.

Whew, thanks. I've heard mixed reviews. One couple saw it and had a list of complaints a mile long and told me not to bother, another couple said it wasn't as good as Order but better than Prisoner so that makes it a go. It's such a complex and involved book I knew they were going to have to cut the hell out of it for the movie, I'm just glad it's worth seeing.

RM

not as good as Order makes it toal piece of crap then.. cause I HATED seriously HATED Order.... the movie was total waste of my time and I'm a die hard HP fan !
I just sat there in the movies with my head between my hands and wondered what movie I was watching again?
Going to see HBP on 23rd

haven't seed it yet

UGH! I hated Order also! My personal favorite was POA.

bones206 wrote:UGH! I hated Order also! My personal favorite was POA.

mine too!

I have yet to weigh in on the movie and as I'm about to watch it again, I thought I would.

I actually really enjoyed the movie. Yes, there were big differences from the book but at this point I feel as if the movies are almost a seperate entity from the books. There are always going to be things cut out (as with all the other movies), so it's hard to judge it that way.

Half Blood Prince was actually never my favourite book. (I love Goblet and Order of the Phoenix). Having just reread it before the movie, I warmed up slightly to it however it is very much a placeholder book. I was interested to see what they would do with it on screen because there is little to no action in that book at all and it happens all in the last 50 pages.

Anyway, the negative things first. The end scene was supposed to be a fight and I'm not sure why they didn't do that. (How could all those Death Eaters make their way up to the tower without at least one student noticing them?) I would have rather seen a mini-battle, although maybe they were concerned it was going to look too similar to the one that will be at the end of Deathly Hallows.

Is it wrong to ask for a bit more of a kiss from Ginny/Harry? I liked how they played up the sexual tension throughout the film but I wish that came to a more satisfying conclusion.

As for the Burrow scene they added in, I didn't mind it. I totally get why they put that in and for me, it was a nice break from all the comedy.

Alright, what I loved.

First of all, this movie was funny! I wasn't really expecting that at all. I mean, I know there are some funny parts in the book, but I found them to be actually funnier in the movie. Rupert Grint finally got to show off his comedic chops and the girl who played Lavender was hilarious, even when she wasn't saying a word.

It's interesting how they played up the Ron/Hermione thing and actually it reminded me of that part in Deathly Hallows when Ron comes back and Hermione gets angry at him although she is relieved to see him.

Another great comedic part was from Daniel Radcliffe when he was under the influence of Felix. Now this was brillant and way funnier than in the books.

The Hermione/Cormac thing was pretty funny too, especially since the actor playing Cormac was excellent. And I never used to like Emma Watson as Hermione but during this film she really stepped it up.

Comedy and romance aside, I thought the rest of the story was well done. I loved the scenes with Draco and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how he plays it in the next movie.

I wish they had done more with Fenir Greyback but I get why they didn't.

I loved Michael Gambon as Dumbledore in this and of course, I loved Alan Rickman. How can you not?

I also really enjoyed the two actors who played young Voldemort. (The very youngest is Ralph Fiennes nephew by the way). They both were just sinister and charming enough to make it work.

The first thing I said when the movie was done was "The next movies are going to be epic."

And I think that's how I feel about this movie as a whole. Like the book, it's a placeholder for things to come. And I actually enjoyed the movie more than the book, which I don't think has happened to me before (in the Harry Potter universe anyway).

And that's my thoughts!

Is it 2010 yet?

Will, I wouldn't have minded the Burrow scene so much if they hadn't added it and cut a vital part of the entire story. Not just the HBP story, the whole series. Again, how Harry is supposed to find and destroy the horcruxes when he was given absolutely no clue where to look or what to look for just doesn't make any sense. That's probably my biggest issue with the whole thing...no, I didn't expect it to follow the book exactly, obviously, but to me, that is one of the most important pieces to bring Voldemort down, and there was nothing.

I have to agree... kid Voldemort was fricken' scary! he was brillant! and of course, who doesn't love Alan Rickman? he's a wonderful actor. the whole cast did a great job with this movie.

Okay, we went to see it last night - caught the midnight show - and I have to say I was disappointed. The good - Young Tom Riddle was creepy and crazy scary, the regulars (Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, and Alan Rickman) were fantastic. Unfortunately they didn't make up for the overall weakness of the film itself. I've never sat through a film that was two and a half hours long only to walk away thinking it was way, way too short. The amount left out of the film, the editing, even some of the modifications to the basic story line, all detracted from the viewing experience. Not saying that it wasn't above average as far as movies go, because if you haven't read the book the film was fine, but having read tHBP, I found the movie to be a major let down. I am happy to hear they're going to split Deathly Hallows into two films because it means we'll almost assuredly get something true to the book.

RM

I was looking at a picture of the potions class, and I saw Neville. he's not in the potions class in NEWT level cuz he didn't met the grades. so wierd.

I watched the movie Friday night and will go again tomorrow. I hope I will remember more afterwards.
Basically I concur with most of you with the things I've missed or disliked. I just want to add that I missed Snape. There was just not enough of him. Why did they even mention he teaches DADA now?
Plus, I didn't like that Harry went spying without his invisible cloak. I disliked that a lot in Dumbledore's death scene. Snape saw him and didn't hurt him. Takes the illusion of Snape being the bad guy.
And disapparating out of Hogwarts... wth?! That bothered me a lot.
Moreover, I was kind of disappointed with the why of Ron's relationship with Lavender. In the book he's angry with Hermione for kissing Krum and mainly starting it because of a fight with Ginny.
Then Ginny who was basically everywhere. During the Quidditch tryouts it almost looks like she is some kind of Co-Captain to Harry. I can understand the importance of her being everywhere, but it bothered me a little to see her as a new part of the Harry, Hermione, Ron-trio.
btw, was I the only one who had the impression that Hogwarts looked different than in the other movies... I'm not sure. Should watch the other ones again.

However, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the movie... I just think I shouldn't have read all the books in two weeks this month. Made me notice to many details in the novels that I think are of importance.

I would have loved to have the Slytherin's to sing 'Weasley is our King' in the Quidditch match...

I would go as far as to say that this is my favorite movie after the first one...

Kasper wrote:I would go as far as to say that this is my favorite movie after the first one...

Interesting kas...why?

And I probably would have really loved it if they hadn't wasted that 10 minutes on the scene at the Burrows, and had added something that had actually happened in the book...I think that's really what irritated me, and I started to nitpick after that.

The movie had me laughing most of the time and I don't know, I just really enjoyed it. I've come to terms that the movies suck in comparison to the books so I've adopted a non-book reader attitude when talking about the movies. So, I liked it, a lot.