Grade: B-
"Truly delightful. Best Potter yet!" That was my instant review of the latest installment of the Harry Potter saga. It was 2:40ish in the morning on July 15th, and I had just seen what I still consider to be one of the better Harry Potter movies. I have read all 7 of J.K. Rowling's masterpieces multiple times, so it is impossible for me to simply view this movie as a separate entity from the books. Were I able to view this film purely as the 6th installment in a series of movies, I would have given it an A-. As it stands, I cannot say that I really liked this movie. I have to chalk my initial review up to excitement and exhaustion.
All in all, this movie was fine as the 6th installment in a long sequence of movies. As the embodiement of the 6th book in a series of fantastic tales it falls far below what was expected. The trailer for this movie depicts action and adventure, which makes for a good trailer but doesnt exactly depict an accurate portrayal of the film.
Please be warned that there are spoilers in this review. If you have not seen the movie please watch for the movie spoilers sign and stop reading. If you have not read the book, get off the internet and start reading something real. Seriously, what is wrong with you?
The 6th Harry Potter film starts where the 5th one left off. Death and destruction in the Ministry of Magic, Voldemort's return is now widely known, and rumors of Harry Potter's legend abound. The beginning of this movie was true magic. Harry Potter is growing up and it is undeniable. Daniel Radcliffe has played his role well throughout his Harry Potter career, and he is no longer the little boy with glasses. Sure the glasses are still there, but there is no way to look at this person and see a boy. If his physique and 5 o clock shadow dont convince you that Harry is all man, then his interaction with a beautiful waitress will do the trick.
This film covers Harry's 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The 6th year at Hogwarts brings new challenges to the students in the classroom, they are now on specific tracks toward their career aspirations. Harry's worst subject, Potions suddenly becomes a lot more interesting when he stumbles upon an old Potions book belonging to someone who calls themselves The Half Blood Prince. In addition to higher level N.E.W.T. classes, Harry is captain of the Quidditch team. Outside of school activities he is enlisted to help Headmaster Dumpledore on a quest to find out as much about the life of Tom Riddle, or Lord Voldemort as he is more commonly known, so that he may eventually be destroyed.
I think this movie falls into two categories, parts I liked because they depicted what I saw in my head when I read the book, and parts I hated becuase they purposefully went away from the well written story it was based on. There is, admittedly, a smaller more obsure portion of the movie that would fall into a third category: parts I liked even though they deviated from the story I love.
WARNING BOOK SPOILERS FOLLOW!!!
The beginning sequences of this film, in fact the first 15 minutes or so were spectacular! They perfectly set the tone for the rest of the film. The world is not a safe place any longer, even Muggles are noticing that something is not quite right in the world. The first scene is shot in Imax and that choice immediately throws the viewer into the action. Instead of sitting back and watching destruction, you are experiencing the destruction.
From here the movie takes a turn. A lot of people have complained that nothing happened in the movie, and to some extent they are correct. However this stayed true to the book, granted in the book you get a lot more ventures back in time to see glimpses into who Tom Riddle really is. There are two books in the Harry Potter series where Lord Voldemort himself does not appear, the Prisoner of Azkaban and the Half Blood Prince. They are also, interestingly, the only books whose titles refer to an indivudual person. These books are more character stories, than action stories. In the Prisoner of Azkaban we learn all about the friendships of Harry's parents and their fellow Maurauders. In the Half Blood Prince the story focuses more on Harry and his group of friends. The development of the Harry and Hermione's friendship on a fraternal level is key to elements in the last book. The development of Hermione and Ron's romantic relationship, or lack of one, is a story that readers have been yearning for.
If you have not seen the movie, and are the type of person who watches the Harry Potter movies without partaking in the joy that is the book series, I suggest that you stop reading here. For the film viewer, this movie is quite good. Go into it expecting to see a personal story of love and friendship and I think you will enjoy yourself. There will be more Harry Potter excitement in the next two movies, but this one is definitely a character study, or at least it is supposed to be.
If you havent seen the movie yet because you are like me and love the Harry Potter books so much that you have trouble really enjoying the movies, keep reading fellow Potterite, keep reading.
There were several classic scenes from this tale of complicated high school friends and enemies that were recreated on the silver screen very well. Ron playing Quidditch was hilarious, and Cormack McLaggon is the perfect specimen of the boy you love to hate. Jim Broadbent nails the role of Horace Slughorn, he hits that exact strange mark between good guy and power grubbing creep that is Horace Slughorn. Jessie Cave will thrill you as Lavendar Brown, her delivery of the line "Where is my Won Won?" is everything you faithful readers have been waiting for. I could truthfully go on and on about all the ways that this cast delivered the characters of this movie in ways that are still blowing my mind. The acting is superb, they truly transcend the characters off of the screen and into your hearts.
While the acting was spot on, the directing and screenwriting were shoddy at best. Scenes like Katy Bell's bewitchment and the cave will chill you to the bones, they are evocative of the graveyard scene in the Goblet of Fire where possibly the scariest moment in Potter history was brought to life better than we ever could have hoped for. Other scenes like Harry and Ginny's first kiss and the showdown between Death Eaters and Dumbledore flopped like lifeless fish as it seemed that the director just didnt nkow how to handle them. I have said before that the brilliance in Harry Potter lies in the details. JK Rowling paints a picture beautifully, tying together so many elements, really allowing the reader to live in the world she has created. When the creative team behind these movies decides to walk away from the scenes laid out by their Muse, they do a severe injustice to themselves.
And that's the way I see it.
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