**SPOILER ALERT** Even the slightest review can ruin something for you, so read at your own risk.
Photo Credit: IGN.com
David Yates…does it again. The director, whose first attempt at reenacting the Harry Potter books delivered nothing but success, can take pride in his credibility as the director best able to amplify the saga. Half-Blood Prince is, in only a fashion we can expect from Yates now, well done.
In Order of the Phoenix, Yates was criticized for the movie supposedly having a long build up to the ending scene with the fighting and action, as Harry & Co. embarked on their quest for the prophecy. Some critics even said the movie dragged its coat-tails along the ground, until the last half hour. What critics often forget (because they’re too busy riding those high Palominos) is that movie adaptations have screenwriters. J.K. Rowling was not the screenwriter, but she did give her permission for a talented individual to take her novel and make it fit into 2.5 hours. And said screenwriter, did just that. It is hard to capture every slight detail without compromising our attention spans, so critics- what do you suggest one does if, as you’ve stated from your position, the next best thing (taking the most important parts) isn’t good enough?
I say it was, with HP5, and it certainly is with HP6. Brilliantly put together…as the collaboration between Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves unfolds, flowing with their rendition of Rowling’s most shocking book. Done the best way it could have been.
Obvious (foam-at-the-mouth-angry) questions from loyal Rowling readers:
Where was Fleur, Bill (with his later unrecognizable face), and Scrimgeour?
Where were the members of the Order and other Death Eaters for the final fight?
Where was Dumbledore’s white casket clad funeral?
Where was Harry’s detention from Snape?
Where was Tonks’ heartbreak about Lupin?
Among others.
All of the above are necessary for the book, not necessary for the movie. The good thing about Deathly Hallows is that it will be able to pick up where this movie left off, complete with all of those unanswered questions. So, if you hated this one, expect to hate the next two.
Knowing very little about cinematography, even the most camera-illiterate person notices Yates’ use of the positioning of power/relevance throughout the movie- Dumbledore at the top of the Hogwarts tower, Draco at the top window placed above Harry and Hermione during her Ron breakdown moment, Harry with Ron & Hermione in the same tower-top position once Dumbledore is dead, Snape towering over Harry once he reveals his HBP title…. slight, but purposeful things like that.
The downfall of the movie was not the ending. It ended just as expected- abruptly, and cliff-hanging. The downfall was in the unexplained beginning: tons of cameras taking pics of Harry, cut right to the bridge breaking, cut right to Harry in a restaurant with a pretty waitress. What?
Perhaps it would have been better to start with the bridge and then briefly introduce Scrimgeour giving a brief explanation for our Muggle (non-reading) friends, then cut to Harry’s reading the newspaper in restaurant bit.
Nonetheless, with a whopping $58 Million already under the belt, Half-Blood Prince lived up to its “Most Anticipated” Summer Blockbuster title. The difference between this movie and Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen?
Actually being worth the wait.
Rating: 4.6/5
