Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
So. That happened.
This review won't contain any spoilers about this or the following book. I do not make that claim for the comments, however, where I shall feel free to discuss the movie (and the books) at length should the opportunity to arise. So, you know, avert your eyes from the comments section if you have any concerns along those lines, m'kay?
M and I went to the 12:30 show this afternoon. There were literally over 300 empty seats in the theatre (which holds something like 400 people). S went at midnight last night (in a Gryffindor T-shirt, with two of her guy friends in matching shirts) and said it was packed. The 3 o'clock shows looked to be much fuller, and the 6-ish shows are already sold out. I expect the movie to do pretty huge box office. And, I might add, rightfully so.
I have to say that I think it's one of the best HP films yet. Sadly, a ton of stuff was jettisoned and a bunch of things were compressed, but I get why those choices were made. The fact that they consulted Rowling when writing the script and/or had access to Deathly Hallows is evident from some of the stuff that either got left in or added. I am pleased NOT to have seen it in 3-D IMAX, because I am nearly certain that a particular London scene near the start and the quidditch scenes (which were AWESOME) would probably make me barf if I saw them in either 3D or IMAX, let alone in both.
I give it high marks for developing the relationships among the main characters, and in managing to make the Draco plot make sense, particularly given that so much of it occurs off-stage. Also, high marks for not making a cliff-hanger of a book feel completely like a cliff-hanger movie. Sure, it leaves us on the edge of the end, but not in the way that the book left us all pretty much dangling by our nails from a slender branch extended out of the cliff's side.
Considering that we're looking at November 19, 2010 for part 1 of Deathly Hallows (which will necessarily have to have a cliffhanger ending, I believe) and at July 15, 2011 for the end of the end of the movies. In a recent interview, David Yates (director of Phoenix, HBP and Deathly Hallows) said part one will be "like a road movie, refugees being chased by all these people who want to kill them. It’s quite intense." The first movie will use documentary and cinema verité camera work, according to Yates. About part two, he said, "The final film is like this big opera, big epic, it’s got more set pieces than any of the others." The final battle promises to be huge and epic; I'm looking forward to it.
To M, the movie made far more sense than the book, although I believe she's only read it once, which may explain things; like her mother, she reads quickly, and she flies so fast when she's nervous about something that she doesn't always catch it all. That was particularly true in Deathly Hallows, where so many characters die that it's hard to mark all of the deaths. In fact, a recent conversation with our podiatrist ended up talking about the HP books, and he had failed to notice the death of a particular favorite character during the Battle of Hogwarts (who shall remain nameless for the handful of people out there who have not yet read the book and wouldn't want it spoiled). Suffice it to say that M still hasn't forgiven Rowling for that particular character's demise. Although as a writer, she completely respects Rowling for having made that choice, which had to be pretty much gut-wrenching, she remains actually upset about this particular fictional death nearly 2 years later. While I see her point as to why the death is particularly upsetting and unfair, I'm surprised it's still so visceral for her. Now that is some good writing.
So, did you see it yet? If so, what did you think? If not, are you going to?
