Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - Grading and Discussion

[Chekov's Phaser]

Harry Potter's sixth installment gets its worldwide release July 15th. It currently has a 98 percent rating at Rottentomatoes.com . Could this be the best one yet?

To defeat one's enemy, one must understand who that enemy is and how they came to that point. As all out war has broken out, will Harry learn enough to stop the Dark Lord.

I'm really looking forward to this one!

 

[RoJoHen]

Gah! I have to go buy The Order of the Phoenix before I see this tomorrow! I just finished marathoning 1-4, but that's the only one I don't own.

 

[kathryn i am]

Looking forward to seeing this one - just can't quite figure out when I can go!! Life is too busy!

 

[TGTheodore]

I really enjoyed this installment. The kids are growing up, things are getting more serious and, not having read any of the novels, there were a few good surprises.

Also, I enjoyed the cinematography, especially.

I'll definitely see it again at least one more time on one of our HUGE local screens.

--Ted

 

[Rob Hal]

Just came back from the midnight showing... disappointed overall.

The acting performances are mostly fantastic... the cinematography is incredible... the movie is certainly lacking in terms of plot, however. There's great interaction between characters, and there is a lot of character development, but its not the type of development that really pushes the story forward. The focus on the teen romance was well done... but there was perhaps a little too much of it. The Half-Blood Prince storyline just seems to be there as a nod to the movie title (biggest missed opportunity of the movie). The climax didn't have the emotional weight that this particular climax should have, perhaps because there is very little intensity leading up to that moment, the movie sort of just lulls its way there.

Those are just some general thoughts coming out of the movie... it's late here, but I'll probably jump in tomorrow with some more thoughts after I've cleared it up a bit in my mind.

 

[Trippy]

Very excited to see this after work today

 

[DS9Continuing]

Saw the midnight showing last night, and I agree that this is a very grown-up movie - quiet and slow but with a creepiness that's undeniable. I too was very impressed with the performances, especially of the kids. All of the romance acting was done almost totally with reactions and expressions, almost no dialogue at all, and yet it was some of my favourite stuff of the film. And Draco, despite also having practiclly no dialogue, has one of the strongest through-lines of all of them.

Agree about the title thread though - when Snape does his "big reveal" at the end, you're like, "The who, now? Oh right, I remember that bit."

 

[Augustus]

I saw the midnight showing this morning and I enjoyed the movie a lot. Even though I have never read the book (preferring to read the book AFTER I see the movie), I knew the basic plot going in.
I thought Malfoy was especially and I thought overall it was just a perfect film for setting up the last 2 movies. And even though I knew about certain character's demises, it was still very sad.

 

[TheBrew]

I very much enjoyed it and the only downside is the unfortunate name of the movie since that plot was dropped. Looking forward to the final installments.

 

[TGTheodore]

And it raked in $22 million on its midnight show alone. Thank God a decent movie knocked Transformers down a peg.

Also, the actor playing Malfoy now looks disturbingly like a younger Anthony Michael Hall in a lot of shots ...

--Ted

 

[Dreadnoughty]

It was OK...nothing special though.

Hard to make it into anything else really but I agree with the poster who said not much is shown about the half blood prince aspect of the story.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Went down to see it an hour ago.

Har de fucking har.

House Full at our local one-screen one-performance-per-day fleapit which for once in its life is having previews instead of getting a film two or three months late.

Maybe tomorrow...

 

[CaptainCanada]

Caught the 3:15 today; not too many people there, but when I got out there were lines up and down the corridors and into the lobby for the various 6ish showings (I guess not many people have nothing to do in the early afternoon).

I voted excellent; thought it was really good. Easily the funniest of the HP films, and, actually, a lot of the best gags were ones invented by the writers for the film. I was surprised that Hermione sicking the birds on Ron was played so sombrely; that had screamingly obvious potential (also, Harry taking Luna to the party should have been milked for a bit more humour; Evanna Lynch is so perfect as that character). This movie probably captures the social aspect of the novels the best of any of the films so far (in part, one supposes, because the plot is more minimal).

I'm guessing they refrained from making a big fight at the castle to save the real fireworks for the final film; I did miss the moment where they apparate into Hogsmeade and spot the Mark floating over the astronomy tower. They did a good job with the scenes in Voldemort's secret lake.

Adding the other big "name" Deatheater, Bellatrix, to the castle's invasion party, was a great idea. I'd definitely put it as an improvement; Bonham-Carter's mannerisms as Bella are great. The scenes with her destroying the Hall and torching Hagrid's house while gailly dancing about worked wonderfully.

Daniel Radcliffe has really matured as an actor, both dramatically and as a comedian. Likewise, this is Tom Felton's strongest material. Grint, who's been providing the bulk of the comic relief in the series, does some of his best stuff, though both he and Watson lose even their rudimentary roles in the climax here. Bonnie Wright, meanwhile, after five films hovering around the set, gets to do something. The girl playing Lavender was hilarious.

The only notable addition to the cast is Jim Broadbent, who does a great job as Slughorn. Kloves invents some new dramatic material for him (the bit about the goldfish, the constant comic babbling about things being "purely academic" that takes a really dark turn in the flashback) I thought was really good.

Possibly my favourite bit: Luna WUZ RIGHT!

 

[Aurian]

Can't wait to see it, have been waiting since forever..

 

[Greylock Crescent]

I saw the midnight show and thought it was better than 4 & 5, but nowhere near as good as 3. The romance was played for quirky humor, rather than cheap melodrama -- which was a positive for the film -- but it never really meshed with the rest of the film. It was like watching two movies at the same time: One a lighthearted romance; the other a dark(ish), brooding, sometimes deadly tale of growing darkness. It's obvious that the romance was meant to balance the darker elements, but a good story finds a clear way of connecting the two -- either thematically or through the characters themselves. At best we get the juxtaposition of the trio with Malfoy, of their juvenile frivolity with his more mature struggle. But the film needed more of a connection than that.

And the final scenes just feel anticlimactic. Without a strong exploration of the Dumbledore/Harry relationship, without a fully realized plot about the Half-Blood Prince, the final moments are sapped of visceral tragedy and outrage.

 

[Procutus]

I am super-psyched for this one, especially after reading reviews today. Hopefully taking it in tomorrow after work.

 

[Daneel]

I've promised my sister that we would take in this movie together, as seeing the HP films has been something of a ritual for us over the years. We probably won't be able to figure out a time that's good for both of us until next week at the earliest, though... arghh.

Definitely looking forward to this one.

 

[CaptainCanada]

I've promised my sister that we would take in this movie together, as seeing the HP films has been something of a ritual for us over the years. We probably won't be able to figure out a time that's good for both of us until next week at the earliest, though... arghh.

The solution to your problem is obvious: go see the movie now, and lie about it. What's more important, you sister or Harry Potter?

 

[Trippy]

So far, my favourite films have been 3 and 5.

Until today. HP6 rocked all kinds of ways! The 'kids' were finally mature and the acting was top notch...Harry with the lucky potion had me laughing out loud! Ginny finally got to show some more acting than she has since HP2 and she pulled her weight--there should have been more to their romance though before Dumbledore dies, then the break-up scene in the next film would carry more weight.

I found the humour and laughs a fantastic balance to the horror and final scene with Dumbledore's death--knew it was coming, and I still teared up when only a short time before I was laughing. I thought, thematically, that summed up Dumbledore perfectly. His character has always been the mix of serious and humour.

Yes, I was disappointed with the Harry/Snape final scene. I was waiting for Snape to explain how he got the name!

Loved, loved LOVED Tom Felton in this. No, his lines didn't increase any, but his tortured look upon becoming the replacement death eater for his imprisoned father was phenomenal!

And big props this time around for Dan Radcliffe...he too was phenomenal in really REALLY living his character. He's been maturing off and on screen now and has given his all here. The scene where he's feeding Dumbledore the poison was exceptional.

Watson and Grint were great to watch for both the comedic Ron/Lavender pairing and Hermoine's torture at watching it.

A definite excellent from me

 

[Daneel]

I've promised my sister that we would take in this movie together, as seeing the HP films has been something of a ritual for us over the years. We probably won't be able to figure out a time that's good for both of us until next week at the earliest, though... arghh.

The solution to your problem is obvious: go see the movie now, and lie about it. What's more important, you sister or Harry Potter?

Nah, I couldn't lie to her, and I think it would be better if we saw the movie at the same time and discuss our thoughts about it afterward (which will probably be limited to arguing who's hottest between Hermione and Ginny, but whatever ).

I'm patient, though... while I've enjoyed the Harry Potter films thus far, I don't consider them "must-see on opening week" movies -- not like Star Trek or something.