My review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:
I went into the movie theater last night with Kyle, super-psyched to be seeing the newest film in the Harry Potter saga. I’ve been a big fan of the books since I was a kid & have felt a little let down by the attempts at making them into films thus far, and hoped this time around I’d be pleasantly suprised. But I have to admit that at first, I was very disappointed.
The filmmakers took way too many liberties in this film by adding in ridiculous scenes you’ll find nowhere in the book (you’ll know which ones I mean), sexual innuendos (which of course made the audience laugh, but really Mr. Yates, it’s a childrens’ movie), and screwed up some important details that’ll prove hard to remedy when it comes to the 7th movie(s). It should be interesting to see exactly how they cover these fuck-ups.
Despite all these flaws, I was suprised at how much I enjoyed myself. For all of you out there who are fans of the books, don’t go into it expecting it to be anything like what it was based off of, you’ll only be disappointed & I found that once I stopped comparing it to the book, it became a much better film. It reached a new level of epicness (I don’t think that’s a word, but go with me), that none of the other films managed, and towards the end it especially reminded me of Lord of the Rings (which could be seen as a flaw or a plus, depending on your opinion of the films).
As far as casting goes, they were on point. Horace Slughorn, played by Jim Broadbent and whose rendition of the character was nothing like I imagined when I read the book, was absolutely wonderful, sending the audience into hysterics at several points in the film. Lavender Brown, portrayed by Jessie Cave, was ridiculous and fit perfectly, making me cringe more than once at her overbearing, overly clingy and hilarious behavior towards Ron. Even Michael Gambon, who replaced the deceased Richard Harris as Dumbledore starting in the third film and has never failed to disappoint me in his rendition of the character, actually grew on me in this film. Gambon became warmer and slightly more charming, closer to what I imagined Dumbledore to be. Last but not least, the two young actors they hired to play the younger versions of Tom Riddle were absolutely enthralling, especially newcomer Frank Dillane (who played Riddle at age 16), who more than once sent chills running down my spine at his rendition of the cunning and cruel soon-to-be Dark Lord.
Anyone who has not seen the film yet, definitely see it soon. I tried not to give too much away so you can all judge for yourselves. For the book lovers, go into the theater with an open mind and try not to make too many comparisons, it’ll probably just tick you off and it’ll end up being a waste of 9 dollars. For those who have not read the books but have seen all of the movies, prepare yourself to be delighted by the best of the films yet.
Three and a half out of five stars.*
