Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released July 15th and MadProfessah and The Other Half saw it during the first weekend (at our usual movie house in Alhambra).
The Other Half hasn't read any of the books but has seen all of the Harry Potter movies with me, and I have read all the books. Unfortunately, although the 6th edition in the series is one of the strongest books, it is decidedly NOT one of the strongest of the film adaptations.
It's true that at this point in the series the main characters are now teenagers with the concomitant hormonally fueled obsessions but on film this seems to overwhelm any of the other multiple story lines that J.K. Rowling has packed into the penultimate book.
The Half-Blood Prince is an incredibly important part of the Harry Potter series, with an incredibly important plot development that I won't reveal here (it involves the death of one of the most important characters).
My point is that when the pivotal event occurs in the film instead of being emotionally overwhelmed by the significance of the moment one is simply unmoved.
It is surprising that this film is so bad because David Yates directed this one and the one before, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (read MadProfessah's review), because the two are so divergently effective. Yates is scheduled to direct the two films which the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (read MadProfessah's review) is being made into, for release in Christmas 2010 and Christmas 2011. Hopefully, he will do a better job with those film than he did with The Half-Blood Prince.
Running Time: 2 hours, 33 minutes. MPAA Rating: PG for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality.
Plot: B.
Acting: B-.
Visuals: B+.
Impact: C.
Overall Grade: B-.
Plot: B.
Acting: B-.
Visuals: B+.
Impact: C.
Overall Grade: B-.
I have to agree. I did not like the Half Blood Prince. I could not believe the turn or the direction the story took. I had a problem with it, just as I did with the last X-men movie.
ReplyDeleteI've never read the Potter books 'cause I am really not into fiction but for some reason I have seen all the movies. I suspect the book was much better than the movie.