Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Review ~ Colton

(Note: This review was written when HBP was first released in theatres. Adding it to the blog for nostalgic purposes, plus I rewatched it last night and hated it again.)

Went and saw HBP with my best buddy yesterday.

Unfortunately, I have to say I was wholly disappointed.

Let me start out by saying that HBP was my second favorite book in the Potter series; a close second to Prisoner of Azkaban. I was expecting the most for this movie, and ended up getting a wishy-washy, second rate film that left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

First off, all of the relationships in the movie seemed really forced. Dumbledore's friendship with Harry was only vaguely established, and extremely awkward. Mister Yates, orders to shave and inquiries about one's personal life does not a best friend make. The HarryxGinny aspect really wasn't built at all. They shared about three meaningful glances, one kiss, and that was it. The end. No one really cared, even though it was a fairly developed relationship in the books. RonxHermione was forced and incredibly awkward, and there seemed to be a running "there's something on your lip" gag that didn't work at all.

Second: Daniel Radcliffe's acting. Is it just me, or does he seem to get worse and worse every film? In the latest installment, most if not all of his dialogue is cringe-worthy. As a child in the first few movies, he was more natural when delivering his lines: he was a fresh face, and was doing his utmost hardest to do his best. As the series progressed, however, he settled into his role, and, knowing that he could not be dropped, got slipshoddy with his acting.

Next, the movie was only barely faithful to the book. People who liked the book will hate it because of the horrible novel-to-film transition, and people who didn't read the book will hate it because the movie assumes that the viewer has read the books and cuts corners in the plot development. My biggest qualm was the scene outside the Burrow. Spoiler Warning:

After an almost-cute scene between Harry and Ginny, BELLATRIX LESTRANGE COMES AND LIGHTS THE FIELDS OUTSIDE THE WEASLEY'S HOUSE ON FIRE. Those that have read the book know that this doesn't happen. The movie, however, decides that the book isn't good enough for them to base their movie off of, and takes creative license in such a drastic manner that it made me sick to my stomach. Harru runs though the ring of fire after Bellatrix, Ginny follows him, and the two duel a group of Death Eaters until Lupin and Tonks come to save the day, woo-hoo. Oh, and the Death Eaters then set fire to The Burrow and make it explode.

THIS. DID. NOT. HAPPEN. Nothing even REMOTELY like this happened! Not only did this not happen in the books, it served no point whatsoever to the plot of the movie. It was just eye-candy; something designed to keep you on your toes, and... well, no, that's about the extent of it. It's just supposed to amuse you; nothing else.

Spoilers over.

The one good thing I can saw for the movie: the last twenty minutes or so were excellent. Throughout the movie, the director took every chance to show off the products of the special effects budget. In the earlier stages of the film, it seemed forced and unnecessary, but in the penultimate scene in the cave, it's put to good use. I won't spoil anything, except to say that, for all practical intents and purposes, Albus Dumbledore is God.

tl;dr

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was an all around let down as a movie. I wouldn't see it again, but if you liked the books, it's a good opportunity for a little mockery.

Overall Score: 4/10