"How grand it must be to be the Chosen One."
Harry Potter; this is a name that is known far and wide these days. You may like him, you may love him, you may NOT like him, and you may hate him, but either way, you've heard the name. I've been a Harry Potter fan since I was in fourth grade. I've read all the books multiple times, and I've seen every movie (with the unfortunate exception of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets") in theaters, and have loved them all. I try my hardest, and succeed (for the most part), at not comparing the books. I'll admit, there are some instances where I go, "Oh, I wish that they would have put this in here," but for the most part, I just enjoy the movies for what they are, representations of the books that I so love. I remember back in 2001, when "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" was coming out, and I had just started to read the books. Mom wouldn't allow me to see it until I'd read all four of them (at that time, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" was the latest addition to the series). I did so, and went and saw the movie, and was amazed. This was way back before my movie addiction kicked in, as well, and so it was mostly euphoria. Watching the movies now, it's still the same. I've loved Harry Potter and the entire universe all my life, and this is one of the ones that I've been waiting for. Ever since I read the book, I knew that "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" would be one of the best movies in the whole series. Not that the others don't, but this was one of the ones that had the most intense parts of the series in it, and they handled it masterfully. This movie also marks a landmark for me. It was the first movie that I've ever seen at midnight on the opening day. Having now had the experience, I'm glad that I chose "Harry Potter" to debut into the midnight scene. It was one of the most fun experiences I've ever had. The fact that I woke up early and watched all five of the first movies to prepare myself for this one, too, only made it that much more awesome to watch. The movie itself, anyway, is done very well. It's follows the book very closely, from what I remember of the book, anyway, and does a nice job with everything. They put in a few parts that I had wondered if they would or wouldn't, and it all turned out great. I must admit to being completely and utterly pissed off last year when the date for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" was changed from November 21, 2008 to July 15, 2009. I nearly threw my computer out of the window in anger, but I stuck out the months, and today I was finally rewarded. They confirmed that since the date was moved back, they were going to add parts to the movie. This definitely made me feel a lot better about the push back, since it meant getting an even closer book adaptation. Not something I push for, but definitely something that I like to see. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is definitely one of the best entries in this movie series, and everything about it pulls it together wonderfully.
David Yates returns to the director's seat for the "Harry Potter" movie franchise, making him the only one, since Christopher Columbus, who directed "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," to return and do more than one "Harry Potter" film. Yates did a great job with "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," and believe it or not, he does an even better job with this, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." He really masters the camera for the film, and pulls the movie together nicely. He comes up with some of the most fantastic angles for a movie that I've seen. He makes different scenes that involve magic, mischief, and other such fantastic sequences pop with these angles. For instance, in the scene where Harry, Ron, and Hermoione visit Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes with the rest of the Weasley family. There is so much going on in the shop, that the angles used by Yates really make it even more exciting to watch. It's a definite upside when lot of what you saw, you pictured in the books. Granted, it was a bit mroe fantastic than that of the book, but it still, for the most part, is the general idea for what you pictured reading the book. He also manages some excellent filters. The best one that I saw in this movie, happens on the Hogwarts Express in the beginning of the movie, when Harry sets off the darkness powder. The seen is so dark and foggy, which is exactly what you'd expect, since you know what it's supposed to do. It definitely worked out to the scenes benefit, making it more intense, in a way. Yates really knows what he's doing behind the character, and I really like where he's taken the movies so far. I'm very interested in seeing what he does with "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II." Steve Kloves returns once more to write the screenplay for the movie. If you'll remember, Kloves wrote thes creenplay for all of the "Harry Potter" films, except for "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," which is this film's predecessor, which was written by Michael Goldenberg. I'm not saying that Goldenberg did a bad job, because he didn't in the slightest, but it's definitely nice to see Kloves return to the series. He does a great job at developing the screenplay from the book written by J.K. Rowling, and making it a very gripping movie. I noticed that this film pretty much followed the book, which is a definite upside, and the whole movie turns out nicely. Kloves definitely knows how to make Rowling's books into movies, and it's definitely nice to see him return to the series.
The visuals of this movie are definitely done with valor. One thing that you can always count on the "Harry Potter" series for, is some excellent and magical visuals. This movie does not disappoint. In fact, this movie's visuals are some of the best that the series has seen so far. I'll start first by mentioning the magic sequences of this movie. The first noticeable one occurs while Dumbledore and Harry travel to see Slughorn. You'll see a complete house resurrecting itself. I know it sounds strange, but it definitely looks great, and everything fixing itself was definitely awesome to watch. Another scene of magic occurs, like I mentioned earlier, during the scene where everyone visits Fred and George's shop, Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. It's definitely awesome to see all of their trinkets and other such bits and bobs flying around, and doing what they're supposed to do. They make for a very excellent scene, and anyone watching can't help but have a smile on their face at the antics of the twins. There are other things throughout the movie that make for definite visual excellences. The scenes that involve Dumbledore and Harry using the pensieve. It's definitely a different thing than what the norm would be for the movie. What I really liked was all of the memory pulling together for Harry to watch. It's hard to explain, but it looks like ink falling through water, and then pulling itself together to form people and buildings and ordinary objects. It's definitely very cool to watch. Another thing that's very cool to see, and many will remember this particular visual from the last movie, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," and that is the Death Eaters as they travel around. They turn into a grouping of shadows, and travel about. It's definitely very awesome to watch. Especially as Bellatrix and everyone else travels around and making a mess of everything they touch, which is exactly what the Death Eaters are supposed to be. One other thing I want to mention, is really the looks of one of the characters. In the book, Fenrir Greyback is a feared and scary character, and in the movie, his looks reflect what he was in the book. He doesn't even take his wolfen form, and it looks like he's been wolfing out. He looks pretty much EXACTLY what he should look like from the book's description. This I was very happy with. The visuals of this movie definitely manage to make it even more enjoyable, which is something that you could barely believe to be possible. They manage to get pretty much everything done right, which really helps the movie even more as a book adaption. DEFINITELY a great job with the visuals of this movie, which only add to the intensity of the film.
The Storyline of this movie was definitely done very well. I know this is the part where I break down on how the writers did with the storyline of the movie. However, it's needless to say that the writer did great with this movie. J.K. Rowling not only created a series of bestselling, and mega popular books. She, like George Lucas, managed to create an entire world on the pages of her books. She created terms, sports, creatures, names, schools, subjects, and everything. It's hard to think that she managed to start this incredible legacy by writing the basics of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" on a mere napkin at a cafe in London. Rowling definitely knows how to spin an excellent story. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is a prime example of this. It has so much going on, now that the story has been developed throughout "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." Harry Potter has seen the return of the dark lord Voldemort, same with Professor Dumbledore, and now the rest of the world knows it. The problem is, saving the rest of the world. The Death Eaters are holding nothing back as they ruthlessly attack things, and it makes for one epic struggle. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," I feel, is where everything comes into fruition for the series. It's the penultimate pedastal in this iconic series, and this is where the real shit starts to hit the fan. The definite upside about "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is that it manages to keep things intense throughout the whole thing. The book had this feeling when I was reading it. It was very hard to put down. I felt the same way with the movie. It was very hard to look away from the screen as everything unfolded throughout the film. This is where the storyline triumphs most. It's almost impossible to put the book down, and it's almost impossible to look away from the screen. What I think is also very interesting about this movie, is the fact that it finally indulges us into the reason behind Voldemort's power, and his serious reluctance to fully die. I won't divulge further with this, for those of you who have not read the books, but know that you will finally be getting the answers to the questions that have undoubtedly been plaguing your mind since the beginning of the series. Overall, the storyline manages to capture your attention, and hold it throughout the whole movie, while at the same time giving us some long awaited answers.
The movie begins as Harry Potter (Played by Daniel Radcliffe of "The Tailor of Panama") is sitting down at a table in a coffee shop, reading The Daily Prophet. A waitress walks up and asks him who Harry Potter is, since he is mentioned on the front cover. They talk around a little bit, and it seems as if Harry's got himself a date. However, as Harry looks out the window at a passing train, he notices something strange, as he suddenly finds himself staring at Albus Dumbledore (Played by Michael Gambon of "Sleepy Hollow"), the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He leaves the shop, and heads over to talk to Dumbledore. They exchange a few words, and Dumbledore tells Harry to take his arm. They apparate, and find themselves in a small village. Dumbledore tells Harry that he does well for his first apparation. They walk along the street, and Dumbledore leads Harry to a house where he asks if Harry was wondering why he was there, and Harry just says that he doesn't ask questions against Dumbledore's methods anymore, but when they get to the door of the house where this teacher is obviously staying, Dumbledore and Harry notice that it is completely destroyed, and notice that it has a deserted air to it. They both draw their wands and enter, looking around at the wreckage of the house as they search it. Suddenly, Dumbledore notices blood dripping from the cieling. As he tastes it, he smiles, and walks over to a rather comfortable armchair sitting in a corner. He pokes it, and suddenly, the chair springs into life as Horace Slughorn (Played by Jim Broadbent of "Moulin Rouge!") stands up, having disguised himself as a chair. As they talk, we find out that Slughorn was merely hiding, since the Death Eaters had been at his door countless times to get him to join their ranks, and you can only say "No" so many times. Dumbledore asks to use the restroom, and Slughorn tells him where it is, after they clean house of course, but he's not going to say yes to Dumbledore's question. While Dumbledore is in the bathroom, Harry and Slughorn talk, and Slughorn talks to Harry about Sirius Black (Portrayed in the previous three films by Gary Oldman of "Dead Fish"), Harry's godfather, and how he'd taught the whole Black family, EXCEPT for Sirius. He shows Harry the shelf of all of his students, and there Harry sees a picture of his mother as young girl. Dumbledore returns, just as Slughorn is really starting to get used to Harry, and they head out. Slughorn asks why they're leaving so fast, but all Dumbledore has to say is that he knows a lost cause when he sees one, and they leave. However, as they reach the entrance into the front garden of the home where Slughorn was staying, Slughorn rushes out, and tells Dumbledore that he will return. Dumbledore sends Harry to The Burrow, where Harry finds that he'll be staying until school. As everyone, including Molly Weasley (Played by Julie Walters of "Billy Elliot"), Ginny Weasley (Played by Bonnie Wright of the made-for-TV movie, "Stranded"), Ron Weasley (Played by Rupert Grint of "Thunderpants"), and Hermione Granger (Played by Emma Watson of the made-for-TV movie, "Ballet Shoes"), acknowledges his return to the Burrow, we cut to a new scene. It's rainy, and two women head to a house and knock. The door is answered by Peter Pettigrew (Played by Timothy Spall of "The Last Samurai"), who takes them in to see Severus Snape (Played by Alan Rickman of "Die Hard"). The women, we find, are Narcissa Malfoy (Played by Helen McCrory of "Becoming Jane"), mother of Draco Malfoy (Played by Tom Felton of "Anna and the King"), and her sister Bellatrix Lestrange (Played by Helena Bonham Carter of "Fight Club"). They talk with Snape, and we find that Draco has been selected by Voldemort to perform a task at Hogwarts, and Narcissa wants Snape to watch over him at Hogwarts. Snape agrees, and Bellatrix performs an Unbreakable curse. Soon, everyone is at Diagon Alley, admiring Fred (Played by James Phelps of the "Harry Potter" series) and his twin, George Weasley's (Played by Oliver Phelps of the "Harry Potter" series) new shop. However, as they leave, they notice Malfoy and his Mother acting oddly, and follow them into Nocturne alley, where they see some sort of weird ceremony, but before they see anything concrete, the window is shut by a scary looking man, none other than Fenrir Greyback (Played by Dave Legeno of "Rise of the Footsoldier"). Harry, Ron, and Hermione head off for another year at Hogwarts, but when they arrive, they find that new measures are being taken, as they enjoy classes with all of their teachers, Filius Flitwick (Played by Warwick Davis of "Leprechaun"), Minerva McGonagall (Played by Maggie Smith of "Tea with Mussolini"), and the Caretaker, Argus Filch (Played by David Bradley of "Tom's Midnight Garden"). However, as things progress, they find that Slughorn wasn't recruited for Defense Against the Dark Arts, but rather Potions, and Severus Snape will be taking over the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, rather than resume his post as Potions Master. It's a strange year at Hogwarts School fo Witchcraft and Wizardry as Harry, Ron, and Hermione battle their way through offensive kids like Cormac McLaggen (Played by Freddie Stroma of "Lady Godiva"), and obsessive girls like Lavender Brown (Played by Jessie Cave of the made-for-TV movie, "Summerhill") and Romilda Vane (Played by Anna Shaffer in her acting debut). However, they're joined by old friends, like the Caretaker and Care of Magical Creatures Professor, Rubeus Hagrid (Played by Robbie Coltrane of "From Hell"), Luna Lovegood (Played by Evanna Lynch who made her film debut in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix") and Neville Longbottom (Played by Matthew Lewis of "Some Kind of Life"). However, as Harry begins lessons with Dumbledore, he is given a new assignment to get friendly with Horace Slughorn, whom witholds a great secret that they must learn, if they are going to defeat the dark lord Voldemort, and end the reign of terror that seems to have only just begun. It's going to be another tough year for Harry Potter, as he figured, but what he didn't figure, was just HOW tough it was going to be. All of these actors have had the chances to grow into their roles, and they do so magnificently. I expect it's nothing for any of them to slip right into character, and they do so wonderfully. Daniel Radcliffe, as Harry, Rupert Grint, as Ron, and Emma Watson, as Hermione, all do wonderful jobs with their parts. Same with Michael Gambon, who as always, does an excellent job as Professor Albus Dumbledore, though we still miss Richard Harris, undoubtedly. Also, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, and the rest of the supporting cast must also be brought to attention, as they all play their parts admirably. Newcomer Jim Broadbent does a most wonderful job as Horace Slughorn, and plays him nearly JUST like I imagined Slughorn in the book, which is absolutely awesome. Definitely a good job in his performance. All of the actors and actresses get their respective characters' feelings, worries, emotions, and other such characteristics down nicely for the movie, helping to add even more intensity to it. Definitely a great job on the casting of this movie.
All in all, this was another great contribution to the "Harry Potter" series, and one of my new favorites of the series. Everything goes according to plan, as one of the best books in the series becomes one of the best movies in the series. The Director of this movie does a great job with angles and filters, as he proves for a second time, since he directed the previous installment in the series. He really knows his stuff, and adds nicely to the film. DEFINITELY a great job on the Directing of this movie. The Writing of this movie shows us the return of a writer who had been missing from the previous installment of the film. He definitely does a great job with the movie once more, as he did with the first four movies, and makes an excellent contribution to the series. DEFINITELY a great job on the Writing of this movie. The Visuals of this movie, of course, and as always, are bloody brilliant, as the magic, the Death Eaters, the shops, and the characters are all handled spectacularly, making it not only an excellent movie, but also a visual feast for the eyes. DEFINITELY a great job on the Visuals of this movie. The Storyline of this movie, as you all know, was done very well by the author of the books, J.K. Rowling, and definitely makes for an awesome movie as everything about it was handled brilliantly for the onscreen adaptation of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." DEFINITELY a great job on the Storyline of this movie. The Acting ties everything about this movie together. All of the Actors and Actresses deliver performances as characters that are VERY Convincing, VERY Believable, and VERY Realistic, while at the same time delivering performances as characters that you can really FEEL FOR, and maybe, in some small instances, RELATE TO, on VARIOUSLY different levels. DEFINITELY a great job on the Casting of this movie. So if you're a fan of everything to do with "Harry Potter," then I definitely recommend that you see this movie as soon as possible. It is DEFINITELY one of the best movies in the entire series. So give it a try. I'm almost POSITIVE that you will NOT get disappointed with it in the SLIGHTEST. I know I didn't!!!!!
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As far as your explanation goes, no, I do not have any questions, lol, you explained it pretty well, and I looked up character bios on Wikipedia which gave me better insight to the backstory. I am excited at the prospect of the "relationship" quality the HP6 film will posess, and have been looking forward to the Harry/Ginny romance which has been hinted at since HP1: Sorcerer's Stone when Ginny was too young to be shipped off to Hogwarts. Even though I largely overlooked her character until HP5: Order of the Phoenix when she was eyeballing Potter through most of that film. As far as the Ron/Hermoine relationship, I don't feel like that was built up enough in the series (films, not books), enough to be justified just yet. They have been friends, and not really shared intimate moments or hints of attraction save a few exceptions such as the Yule Ball dance in HP4 and a little in HP5. I don't expect a resolution to that until Deathly Hallows. I'm more for the wizard/witch collaboration between Harry and Hermoine, which I've been waiting to witness Hermoine's true power as "the brightest witch of her age." I hope to see a move towards that.
Thanks for your prompt response. I'm going to see the film tomorrow.
Any questions? lmfao.
I haven't read the books and therefore I can't claim to know what's going to come, but as you say, this film is a pedestal of the series. Ginny makes a good match for Harry, I for one hated that Asian chick from GoF who Harry shared his first kiss with. Glad she was kicked out of the Order, she was weak anyway.
One other thing I must ask you Vamp. I must have missed some vital points of the series. I saw all except 2 and 3 in the cinemas, but can you enlighten me on the "old" Order of the Phoenix involving Harry's parents? Who was exactly Harry's parent's circle of friends? And how did that story go down, as far as the betrayal and Valdemort's role? Harry's p's were powerful, no doubt, and obviously were some sort of threat to Valdemort. My friend told me that Peter Pettigrew was the "hitman" who murdered them, but I thought Voldemort killed the parents? I'm kinda lost. Was Pettigrew their friend, well, he must have been, cuz Sirius Black told him he would have rather died than betray them.
CBF
Oh and yeah, V2K, great review. But if all I've read in subsequent reviews are true, then I bet I'll disagree with it. I may or may not see it on Sunday, or Monday before leaving for the Tetons on Tuesday-Friday of next week. Though I'll post all 6 HP flick reviews as #s 141-146. I'll have the first 5 up by Monday morning.
That's funny. So if he had given it 2 stars and hated it.... then it wouldn't have been accurate?
Nice (and by "nice" I mean LONG) review again Vamp haha.
Seriously, nice review, but I just don't think its that great of a film. Its just good. I think they focused on the wrong plot and didn't answer enough questions.
I am actually surprised you enjoyed it so much. Most Potter "readers" hated it because the film ommitted too much. That's not my complaint, but I definitely had a problem with it. I just hope they get back on track on the next installment and focus on Voldemort instead of all the luvy duvy stuff.