Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Spoilers)

[BigBenKenobi]

Alright, last night I when to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince with some friends, and I thought it was a really great film...and yes, Hermione is prety hot in this movie . I have read all of the books, and have really come to love the series. Now, although the film was pretty good, as most of you will notice if you go and see it, it's not exactly like the books as with all movies based on books. The actual book is incredibly long, so of course many parts were left out...for example, just look at the ending scenes with Dumbledore and Snape. Although I was disappointed with some parts, overall, the movie kept me incredibly interested even when I knew what would happen next. I even had moments where I fet shivers go down my spine. So, if you're a Harry Potter fan, go see it. It really is quite good in my opinion. However, if you haven't seen all the previous Harry Potter movies or haven't read the books, I suggest you do so in order to prevent yourself from becoming lost. For now, I'm just waiting for the final film: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which began production in Feburary 2009. The film will be split into two separate parts. Part one is scheduled for release on November 19, 2010, and part two is scheduled for release on July 15, 2011.

*Spoilers Now Welcome...

[Solo]

Any spoilers in there? I just want to make sure before reading it.

[Master Fetty]

Not really. Nothing that isn't in the book. And if you haven't read the book, you kinda deserve to be spoilt.

Saw the film earlier and must say, it is the best film of the lot. Half Blood Prince is the best book and this film captures the real tone of the book. Yes, a couple of Riddle's memories (the more interesting ones) are cut, as is the final battle (a good move IMO), but it has the key bits and the alterations work well. The film will be criticised for being a 'set up', but that really is unfair. Yes, it has a few things, such as a key disarmament and an overly long focus on a certain piece of wood, but these never feel to dominate and the last two films would feel stupid without them. A top class film and well deserves all the hype.

[BigBenKenobi]

Any spoilers in there? I just want to make sure before reading it.

Nope. I left those out on purpose because I saw the midnight showing...I didn't want to ruin it for everyone else who still hasn't gotten a chance to see it. But Master Fetty is right in that you should read the book. The actual book, in my opinion, is the best of the 7 .

[gfxguy]

Yes... I've liked each movie more than the last, but can't imagine how non-book-readers manage to follow any of the subtle points.

Yes, stuff has to be cut, but it's worse and worse with each film... I mean, I don't want a 10 hour movie, either, but it goes beyond that... there are some things, for example, that they simply changed from the book for no apparent reason whatsoever... the scene was there, they could have done it as it was in the book, and just didn't...

It drives me crazy because, while I like both the books and the movies, they could have done so much better, and in completely reasonable ways.

[Kyle]

Any spoilers in there?

SNAPE KILLS DUMBLEDORE!

[Solo]

I forgot this is that movie. I really might have been surprised to see that happen... thanks for spoiling it jerkwad.

[Kyle]

Not my fault you're a compulsive text-highlighter.

[Zekk]

I saw this yesterday and loved it. It's up there with Goblet of Fire and Prisoner of Azkaban as one of the best, if not the best, of the movie series, in my opinion. Sure, they cut some stuff, but you don't really care because it's just a good movie. Period. I was a little leary of this movie because I hated Order of the Phoenix, and they're both directed by the same person (David Yates), but I was very pleasently surprised. I think the improvement could also partially be due to the return of Steve Kloves as screenwriter, as he didn't write OOTP. All in all, if you like Potter, you should really see this movie. 9.5/10

[Master Fetty]

Adding to your comment Zekk, I also think the better quality of the base text being better helps a lot.

[ccjwprongs]

Short review I whipped up and put on Facebook... copied it here for your viewing pleasure.

The sixth film in the Harry Potter series, the Half-Blood Prince manages to live up to it's predecessors - just.

The film opened well enough. The sequence with the Death Eaters zooming through Diagon Alley was particularly noteworthy, especially in IMAX 3D, and the bridge scene was equally dramatic. However, the sudden switch to Harry sitting in the train station was rather underwhelming and ruined the drama. Though the film is only adapted from the book, it still seems to change rather a lot or miss certain scenes out, while adding in new chapters not found in the book - yet these are quite welcome, providing the action the book seemed deprived of. The scene with the Death Eater attack on the Burrow is one of the best in the film.

However, it is a sad day when if I had to apply the Half-Blood Prince to a certain genre, it would be a romantic comedy. The film concentrates far too heavily on the romance side of things, and the relationship between Ron and Lavender. In the end it almost ruins the film, deploring it of action sequences. Though dragging on for two and a half hours, scenes still feel rushed, and much like the Order of the Phoenix, ultimately, you're left with the sense that not a lot actually happened. Add to this the fact that the best scene of the book was left out - think the huge battle at the end between the escaping Death Eaters and the Order/students - and you may be starting to wonder what's actually good about it.

The climax of the book, with the exception of the omittance of the duels, as mentioned previously, was recreated quite faithfully. Having read the book, I knew the outcome already, but it was still quite a shock to see it on screen - filmmakers doing their job well, then. The death of one of the key characters is executed perfectly (forgive the pun).

My main complaint with the film, then, stands with the fact that it changes far too much from the book - moreso than even the Goblet of Fire. Then again, I was not a huge fan of the source material to begin with (Half-Blood Prince being the second worst book in my opinion). Nevertheless, the film holds its own for those who haven't read the books, but still struggles to provide much action, relying too heavily on romance and comedy.

3.5/5

[GrayMattR]

We saw it last night and the power went out with 10 minutes left in the movie. They have us free tickets to come back and watch it today, though.

Let's face it: if you're even a casual fan of the books or the movies, you're going to see this one. I thought it was fantastic. It really captured the humor, suspense, and mystery that are in all the HP books. Dumbledore is much better in this movie and is finally played like he's written in the books. It was fun to see a bit of quidditch and how Ron played when he thought he had extra good luck.

I have no complaints about scenes or storylines from the book that were not included in the movie. You can't help that with any book. My only complaints are they didn't explain some of the reasons for what's happening. They kinda underplayed the importance of the Half Blood Prince's book to Harry. They gave it a few lines to point out why the movie got it's name but it didn't have as much effect as in the book. My other complains are similar "short cuts" on the story line:
Spoiler alert for the movie:
(If you've read the book, these don't spoil anything but they are things left out of the movie.) They didn't explain the horcrux until 3/4 into the movie which makes it seem like Dumbledore doesn't know as much as he should. Even in the memory of Riddle asking Slughorn about horcruxes, the word is mumbled so softly that you don't know what Riddle even says. A couple lines of Dialog from Dumbledore could have explained everything. The scene with the inferi was absolutely cool visually and high intensity but there was no explanation about what the inferi are; they come after Harry and Dumbledore but you don't know why they're there or what their purpose is. The movie just needed the dialog of Dumbledore explaining them as they crossed the lake. They crossed the lake in the movie but there was no dialog. It wouldn't have taken any more time from the movie so I don't get why they didn't include it. The movie shows the Death Eaters come in the school, break some windows and glasses int he great hall and then escore Snape and Draco from the school. What's the point? They should have included some of the battle between the Death Eaters and the students/Aurors in Hogwarts at the end, especially the attack on Bill Weasley.

I've heard some reviewers compare this movie to The Empire Strikes Back with the love interests, tension, and how it sets p for the next movie. Not a bad comparison I say. Some movie critics complain that Half Blood Prince doesn't stand on it's own but I disagree. If you go in knowing theres a super villain out to rule the world and Harry Potter is the chosen one to rid the world of him, you're good to go. Seriously, see this movie!

[Teekay]

Well, I think that it was okay as a movie. In comparision to the book, I think it was very different, and not in a good way. Here are the main two problems I see:

SPOILERS, THESE ARE ALSO DEATHLY HALLOWS SPOILERS, SO DON'T READ ON IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE SEVENTH BOOK.
Well, what the heck was up with the attack on the Burrow by the Death Eaters? There was nothing like that in the book, and it's pointless. I mean seriously, all it does is shows how Ginny is compasionate for Harry. That's it.
The Numero Uno problem, though, is Dumbledore's wand, which if you obeyed the spoiler warning, you know to be the Elder Wand. Now, the problem comes when Harry catches the wand after Draco disarming Dumbledore's wand. He puts it in his office, rather than his grave. This is a problem when Voldemort steals the wand. Even though Snape is pretending to be on his side, I do not believe he would allow Voldemort possession of the world's most powerful wand. This is going to be a problem later on. We'll have to see how the script writer deals with this.

~Sam (Teekay)

[gfxguy]

Well, I think that it was okay as a movie. In comparision to the book, I think it was very different, and not in a good way. Here are the main two problems I see:
... [discussion omitted for brevity]...

Do we have to keep hiding it? Seems like the only people who'd continue reading this thread already know they are subject to spoilers.

Ok, adding stuff like the Burrow scene doesn't really bother me a lot. It does bother me, though, but I don't want to write a novel discussing the finer points of why... it was rather pointless, ultimately, and... really didn't make sense. But I completely disagree with the complaint about the ending... since we never see the funeral, we don't know how long after Dumbedore's death that was... he may very well be buried with it in the next movie, we don't know (that, I do have a problem with... that they are making an extra - Deathly Hallows in two parts - so they have time to make up for all the important stuff they left out, ultimately).

Anyway, I don't think that's a travesty... but Harry fondling Dumbledore's wand ( ) seemed pretty pointless, too.

I have a lot of other problems with the movie, though, but then I'm just a whiner. For example, I didn't think they had too much romance, I think they had too few memories. Non-book readers don't know why they were looking for a locket, they didn't even know what the locket looked like... they got no back story on Voldemort, no Gaunt memory, nothing.

I also think that while cutting out the Dursley's makes sense (to shorten the movie), Dumbledore should have eat least explained, maybe while walking to Slughorn's house, that Harry inherited Sirius's stuff... including Kreacher, and despite that fact that he owned the home, why he needed to go back to the Dursley's....

So yeah, it was a great movie, no doubt; my whole family really enjoyed it, but while I don't demand a line by line version of the book, it does seem like what they pick and choose to leave in is random and often detrimental to the story.

[BigBenKenobi]

Do we have to keep hiding it? Seems like the only people who'd continue reading this thread already know they are subject to spoilers.

There...now look at the thread title. SPOILERS ARE NOW WELCOME considering the movie has been out for a few days. I just didn't want to ruin it for people right off the bat .

[Teekay]

Alright, so it is official that I may now post spoilers without whiting it out? If you were oblivious enough to come in here anyway, skip my post.

Well, gfxguy, you made a point that I had forgotten about how we know nothing about the backstory. I mean, in the book, Harry knows so much more than he does in the movie. In the movie, he knows he needs to find the real locket, and three more horcruxes. But he has no clue what they are. In HBP the book, he knows he needs to find Hufflepuff's cup, some object of Griffyndor's or (probably) Ravenclaw's, and he must kill Nagini. As for Dumbledore's funeral, was the part where they all held up their wands not his funeral? I'm not sure, so I may be wrong there. No Grimmauld Place, so that will just be out of the blue in the next movie.

And also, about the Gaunt memories, not only does that mess up non-book readers, but we missed out on a really awesome opportunity. I would have loved to see Bob what's-his-name, Marvolo, Morfin, Merope, and Hepzibah Smith, not to mention the teenage Voldemort. The point is made by Dumbledore, in the books, that every memory he shows Harry is signifigant. The script writer didn't do a good job at that. That was I great opportunity, and I was really looking forward to seeing Voldemort's past on the big screen, but they failed to deliver, and that, most of all, leaves me disappointed.

~Sam (Teekay)

[Masta' Bo]

I liked it, more so than the previous three movies, however, it wasn't as good as the first two. I didn't like the no Gaunt memory, though.
Here's my order of the best to worst HP films, but don't get me wrong, I like all of them.

Sorcerer's Stone (best overall)
Chamber of Secrets (most true to the book)
Half-Blood Prince (most exciting in the cinema)--(yes, it is a romantic comedy)
Order of the Phoenix (just exciting and fun but very streamlined as far as stories go)
Prisoner of Azkaban (most interestingly/refreshingly directed)
Goblet of Fire (best music, but the tone of the movie and music inspired a totally different mood than the book did)

Oh, and has anyone heard about John Williams doing the music for the Deathly Hallows? On Mugglenet they said that the current composer did not agree leaning towards the thought that J. Williams should finish what he started. I'm not too sure about this. I loved J. Williams in Jaws, SW, and especially E.T., but his Harry Potter score is too bright for the current tone/mood of the films. Anyone agree/disagree?

Oh, and who gives a care about the Elder Wand? He'll be buried with it...eventually.

[gfxguy]

.... As for Dumbledore's funeral, was the part where they all held up their wands not his funeral? I'm not sure, so I may be wrong there. ...

~Sam (Teekay)

No... that was right after his death, when he was lying there on the grass.

The funeral was really only important for two things... one is Harry's introspection, which you get with the non-funeral dialog he had Hermione and (to a lesser extent) Ron. The other is him explaining to Ginny why he can't see her anymore (sort of like a Spiderman "if my enemies know who I live, they will exploit that" kind of a thing), which is completely absent.

So... again, they can change things when they have to... no book purist here, but there are points in the book that are either important or interesting that they leave out, and that's just frustrating, because no matter how much I like the movie it just seems like if they had four or five simple lines of dialog, they could tell you a whole lot that they left out.

[Solo]

I was a bit disappointed in this one. I like the series, I've liked all the movies and they've been getting progressively better as each came out, but this just didn't quit click. Seemed very disjointed and poorly paced, like they were haphazardly trying to figure out which parts of a much longer movie they needed to cut and ended up throwing darts to make the choices. Makes me want to read the book to pick up what I missed, but that means I'd need to read all of them, and we all know I'm far too lazy to do that.

[gfxguy]

I was a bit disappointed in this one. I like the series, I've liked all the movies and they've been getting progressively better as each came out, but this just didn't quit click. Seemed very disjointed and poorly paced, like they were haphazardly trying to figure out which parts of a much longer movie they needed to cut and ended up throwing darts to make the choices. Makes me want to read the book to pick up what I missed, but that means I'd need to read all of them, and we all know I'm far too lazy to do that.

I didn't read them all before seeing the movies... in fact, the first few movies had me just shrugging and saying "meh, it's pretty good, I guess." But then the sort-of cliff hanger at the end of Goblet of Fire made me want to read them because I didn't want to wait until the next movie to find out what happens...

IMO, Goblet of Fire is the first one to stray significantly from the books, so you could just start there, if you were so inclined. It's also when the books got really HUGE, so there might be a good reason it strayed so much from the book. While reading it I was impressed with what I remembered from the movie and how the screen writer condensed several parts of the book into one scene... it was an excellent example of what to do right; sadly, they left so much other stuff out... did you know Dobby's been in every book since Chamber of Secrets? Not if you only watch the movies...

Anyhow, I think your opinion is right on the mark... I've heard the screen writing was excellent, but the movie footage was well over three hours and then had to be trimmed down. I think they made a lot of wrong choices. They also don't even hint they might have an extended version... is all that footage really going to be flushed down the toilet? That would be terrible. They might be afraid, at this point, that people will see what was cut and let them know they made terrible choices for the theatrical release.

Still, I've liked each movie better than the last... but I think it's because I've liked each book better than the last, and because I know the story, and can fill in the blanks, I enjoyed it more than I would have despite my disappointment.