Excitement was high for the July 15th release of the latest Harry Potter movie, the sixth movie based on J.K. Rowling’s septology. Some fans had to feel let down at the end of the movie though. Originally slated for a Fall 2008 release, the Half Blood Prince (HBP) premiere was pushed back to the summer of 2009, due to the recent writers’ strike according to producers. In light of this, one would think the script would flow tightly and be overwhelmingly amazing. Not so.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is even darker than the five books that precede it. Voldemort and his Death Eaters are wrecking havoc in the wizarding and non-magic world. Even Hogwarts doesn't seem safe anymore. Harry works with Dumbledore to help shed light on Voldemort's past, while trying to convince Ron and Hermione that Malfoy is now working for Voldemort.
Plot-Weakening Scenes
It seems the writers either didn’t change much in the almost extra year they had to revamp HBP, or changed it for the worse. Granted, Rowling’s books are meaty and of course everything can’t be included in one two-and-a-half-hour movie, but the HBP movie was sadly bereft of the rich background Rowling introduces in the book. The writers instead insert filler scenes that add nothing to the storyline and take away from the heart of the story.
Here are some instances that stand out the most.
- The opening scene – Well done, and shows how Voldemort’s followers are wrecking havoc both in and out of the wizarding world without showing the extended conversation the PM has in the book.
- Harry chatting with a random girl in a subway diner − Why?! It would further the story to have Dumbledore confront Petunia about her promise, and certainly that Harry has inherited the House of Black and Kreacher, as Kreacher later plays an important role in the series.
- The pointless, drawn-out scene of the Weasley’s house being destroyed and the confusing run through the wheat-field − This time could have been used for Dumbledore to instruct Harry on finding the remaining Horcruxes!
- Dumbledore and Harry returning from the cave to retrieve the locket – It’s difficult to believe that Harry would let Snape, or anyone else, get away after killing Dumbledore without trying to do something. Which is why in the book, Rowling has Dumbledore paralyze Harry. The movie changes Harry’s character by making him stand silently beneath and observe everything.
- Harry will be searching for the remaining Horcruxes in the next movie. It would have made sense for the HBP to take more time diving into Riddle’s memories. This not only enriches the story, but it lets the audience better understand why and how Riddle became Voldemort. It would have also furthered the movie if Dumbledore had explained to Harry about the type of objects Tom might use for his Horcruxes.
- Finally, the entire mystery of the Half Blood Prince falls flat. It’s pretty much left alone until the very end of the movie, where Snape says almost as an aside, “By the way, I am the Half Blood Prince.” Going by the movie, Snape is hardly aware that Harry even has his old Potions book!
1. The color of Felix Felicis is gold, although it looked crystal in the movie.
2. There is no Divination practice in the movie; this could have been a great humorous scene!
3. In the book, Harry and Ginny's kiss occurs in the Gryffindor common room during the celebration following Gryffindor's quidditch victory. The movie downplays this by keeping the kiss private.
As it is, the Half Blood Prince seems like a lot of filmed scenes that were thrown together as quickly as possible, skimming over the deeper parts of the storyline that makes Harry Potter so enthralling and interesting to children and adults. Given all of this, the filming was exceptional, and there were some great moments. The derivations from the book are major enough though that the movie didn’t come across as well as it could have.
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