Harry Potter and the half-baked prince? (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (DVD))

Member Name: giksy21

Product:	Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (DVD)
Date:	31/07/09 (31 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny, better acting than before.

Disadvantages: Leaves a lot out from the book.

Harry Potter and the half blood Prince

On a personal level, this has to have been the film that I have expected most from. Throughout my years of film watching, never before have I been so eager in my wait for a title to be released. There has always, however been one problem with expectations. The end product tends not to meet them.

Being the avid Potterhead that I am, I still went out to see the film as early as I could. The producers had already caused me to wait an extra eight months, by delaying the release date from 19th November 2008, to 15th July 2009. There was no way that I was going to prevent myself from seeing this film for one minute longer than necessary.


The book was originally released in 2005, and it has taken a full 4 years to come to the big screen. I have all the previous films on DVD, and have read the books inside out. From an emotional, and very personal level, the sixth book (half blood prince.), was my favourite. It was so insightful, and gave you so much information. I must say that I was stlightly nervous as to what they would cut out, as it seemed impossible to me for everything to be condensed down to a plausible film.
The plot


Ok, so we left HP5, with the climactic scenes of Voldemort finally being back. Harry, having lost His Godfather, Sirius, is slightly lost in his life. He has lost so much, and is filled with angst, and hate. One thing throughout all this that he could rely upon, was the help and support of Albus Dumbledore.

We start HP6, with Harry and Dumbledore, going to try and recruit one Professor Slughorn to the Hogwarts teaching staff. He is a retired teacher, and a curious chap. Why does Dumbledore want him? With Harry's unwitting help, Dumbledore manages this. Harry is unsure of Slughorn, but it becomes apparent that Slughorn is in awe of Harry's reputation.


We are soon back at Hogwarts, and although there are dark times, everything seems normal. We see classes, we see fun, we see love. But some things are happening at Hogwarts, that just are not right. What is going on?

Harry and Dumbledore, with the help of Ron and Hermione, soon realise that all is not what it seems. And eventually, the film gets to its gripping climax. What will happen to the staff, and students of Hogwarts? It'll all be ok, as long as Dumbledore's still there?

Performances

The Potter films, though loved by me, have never really had the best acting. Ok, so you know that Gambon, Smith, and Rickman will always give a good performance. The problems, have been more to do with slightly wooden acting from the smaller characters.


This film is the best by far, in terms of acting content. Gambons Dumbledore, is immense. He puts real emotion into it. The acting is darker when it needs to be, which is in keeping with the more serious content of the sixth book. His love, his hate and his power are there for all to see.

Professor Snape (Rickman.), come into his own in this one. From reading the first books, I knew that snape would have a big role to play. Rickman oozes class, and he is able to combine humour and action effortlessly. The facial acting that he performs in the climactis scenes are among the best of the film.


Slughorn, is portrayed expertly by Jim Broadbent. At first I thought that he was a poor choice, but I think he is perfect. He combines daftness, and fun, with seriousness. the scenes with him in them, are amongst the most enjoyable (and funniest.) in the film.

A huge step up in content takes place for Tom Felton, as Malfoys role becomes much more significant. In previous films, he has been annoying and seemed without too much talent. I must say, that I was flabbergasted by the power of the performance he gives us here. The silly little boy has gone, and the emotions are thare to be seen, as he becomes overcome.


Emma Watson, as Hermione has finally learnt that she does not have to emphasise every word she says. She seems much more real this time round, whereas before she was quite annoying. Her acting has come on leaps, and bounds. Some of the scenes with her and Ron are lovely, and her ability to make you feel sorry for her is a real bonus.

Daniel Radcliff, and Rupert Grint quite frankly were poor. A shame, as they are such major characters. However, this was not too much of a surprise, as they have never really been great. They are undoubtedly Ron, And Harry, but they struggle to keep pace with the improvement made by others.

My opinion

I left the cinema unable to say that this was bad. The film was enjoyable, it was good to look at. It was funny, and also held a lot of emotion. At the same time, I must say that I was left rather dissappointed. Having been such a fan of the films, and knowing so much of the plotline off by heart, I was annoyed rather by the changes made to the film.


There were a lot of things left out. I knew that there had to be. But, for me there was a lot of bits left out that were integral to the plot. I could have understood better why these were all left out, if the director had not saw fit to add large wooly scenes into the film, that never actually happened in the original text. I don't think that anyone has the right to tamper with the work of someone as talented, and loved as JK Rowling.

To give one example, there is a large potion of the book that is given to a fight at the end. The age old fight between good and evil. The order versus the death eaters. And when that part came, I was up for a load of action, like in the end of HP5. I was so let down when this never happened. No-one, except Harry saw fit to fight.


The film is very teeny. By that I mean, it lends a lot of its time to relationships, and other things that you do when you are growing up. Too much time was given to this, and it also contibuted to the lack of important content from the book. Ok, so some of these scenes were moving. Some, indeed were very funny. But the books changed to get considerably darker by this point, so why do the films seem to be getting merrier?

On that point, the film was really funny in parts. Perhaps this is not in-keeping with the plot of the book, but it really is a good laugh. Perhaps the plot of the film lends too much time to this, but it keeps you involved.

overall

It seems that I have been very negative. Like I said at the start, I cannot say that this is a bad film. It was funny. It had action packed scenes. It was really impressive to look at. The acting is so much better than ever before. But for me, I was just left a little short. Perhaps my expectations were too high. I know too much about the books, and wanted to see it all. What we have here, is a well rounded film, which works.


This film will appeal to all. It does contain some darker stuff, so I would perhaps be careful if taking younger ones. Also it is quite long, at 153 minutes and would worry about them keeping their attention.

The film will keep you watching. Perhaps not always for the right reasons. But there is always something going on. You will be entertained. You will laugh, and be scared. You might even cry. Fan of Potter, or not. I think that overall this is a film you will enjoy.

Summary: Great film, but couldn't help feel let down.