[Review] Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Am I one of the only ones who wasn't thoroughly impressed by HP6? The latest theatrical installment (number 6) of the acclaimed Harry Potter series stands at an impressive 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, and has received glowing reviews from both audiences and critics alike.
There were many things to like about this film. For one, the director relied less upon frenetic action and more on character dialogue and interaction to tell the story. HP6 managed to include just enough from the book to keep the audience satisfied, and tweaked just enough to keep the movie flowing in a logical manner. The special effects were good enough, and the "adult" characters were convincing and well-played.
Yet I found two serious flaws in the movie which brought it down from exceptional to slightly above average.
The first was the acting from the youngsters. The actors playing Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley lacked any semblance of chemistry. Their delivery was often wooden, and they didn't play off each other well at all. They excelled only when taking on a role that did not require them to interact with each other a great deal (i.e. Ron while under the thrall of a potent love potion). Otherwise, all but Hermione seemed like they were going through the motions.
Second, Dumbledore's death lacked the visceral, heartbreaking impact that it had in the book. Obviously, knowing what happens before seeing the movie inevitably reduces the effect of his final fate. However, other than a slow motion fall and a spontaneous, wand-glowing eulogy from some assembled Hogwarts students, the rest of the aftermath is almost coldly skipped over. The audience does not get to experience the funeral, the sight of a sobbing Hagrid bearing Dubledore's corpse, the sight of all the assebled students in tears, the absence of some members of Slytherin from the proceedings, the tributes from the nonhuman residents of the Hogwarts grounds -- all were absent from this rendering of the film.
As a result, the eevent did not feel like the worst thing that could possibly happen. It instead felt like a nother log in the fire as the greater story winds to its conclusion. One minute, Dumbledore is killed; scant minutes later, Hermione suggests to Harry that he shoudln't snog Ginny in front of Ron. Let's hope some of these issues will be described in greater detail in the next film, which allegedly will be split into two parts (as some of the other films, particularly number 4, should have been).
On the whole, I thought The Half-Blood Prince was one of the better Potter movies, but still failed to provide the combination of performance, direction, storylines and fun that the third movie accomplished. - hence the 3 Obsidian Reels. Here's hoping parts 1 and 2 of The Deathly Hallows can reach those heights.
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since: 18 Oct 2004