HP&HBP (Spoilers, and a very extensive review)
PLEASE NOTE: If you liked the movie, I would strongly advise against reading this, because I will likely spoil that for you.
Mucho spoilers in this post, so I'll politely
Oh my, where on earth to begin.
For the first 3/4 of the movie, it was all fine. I was willing to let everything go as we plowed onward to the crux of the film, the seemingly inevitable and undoubtedly epic climax.
That never came.
Engulfed by my fury, I must admit that I'm being harder on the film as a whole than I otherwise would have been had there been a fight at the end. I'm not even saying the fight would have had to be frame-by-frame identical to the book, not by any means (the exception being, perhaps, someone dying who shouldn't have). Things that were even close to the book, I was thrilled by. I accepted each plot twist and analyzed why they changed certain things with interest, not anger. But by the end, I was horrified.
I'll work from the most serious offense to the least.
I've already mentioned the lack of a battle at the end. I saw on Brett's post that it's possible they excluded the fight to "make the next movies more exciting," or something along those lines. I can't even speak to the idiocy of this argument. What upsets me the most about the lack of a fight is that it's totally unrealistic. What are the odds that 1) Dumbledore would leave the castle virtually unprotected in his absence, and 2) No professors (namely McGonagall) OR Aurors (who were supposedly stationed at Hogwarts for extra protection) would notice, at the VERY LEAST, Bellatrix destroying the Great Hall and setting Hagrid's Hut on fire?? The Death Eaters just walked right into the castle, killed Dumbledore, and strolled right back out, wreaking random havoc on their way.
There is just no way that the death of one of the most powerful wizards to ever live would go so entirely unnoticed.
Not to mention that right after they made their "escape," the entire school was gathered around Dumbledore's body. What exactly woke anyone up, if they were too dense to notice things getting destroyed?
Furthermore, no one from the Order EVER showed up. Could there even be the slightest chance that they wouldn't ALL be there the moment that news spread that Dumbledore died? Can you even imagine how quickly that news would get to any member of the Order, let alone all of them?? But no, none came. And Hagrid never defended his burning home, either, so I suppose that's as burned to the ground as the Burrow, eh?
Which brings me to my next point. Why add in the scene where the Burrow burns down at all? What is the point? This was the first point in the movie that I was too angry to keep my comments to myself. Firstly, Harry runs through the fire after Bellatrix, and NO member of the Order is capable of getting rid of the fire they created? YOU'RE WIZARDS, PUT THE FIRE OUT WITH WATER. For God's sake! And who knows if the Bill/Fleur wedding will happen now...not that I care particularly, that plot point is well and good being left out, but it's a minor annoyance.
Of all the memories of Tom Riddle to be viewed by Harry through Dumbledore, the most important ones, the ones that are crucial to the next two movies, were omitted. Harry is wandering blindly into his mission of finding Horcruxes. Dumbledore never mentioned anything about Riddle's love of collecting trophies, nor are we made aware of the significance of the objects he would choose to hide pieces of his soul in (quite to my surprise, movie Dumbledore even goes so far as to agree with Harry that they could be ANYTHING, which is so FALSE!). Book Dumbledore assures Harry that the objects would have meaning, AND that there would likely be 6 Horcruxes.
Nor does Dumbledore ever explain how he figured out that a Horcrux would be in that particular cave. He does nothing whatsoever throughout that entire scene to instruct Harry as to what he's doing and why, which I find appalling because Dumbledore has already accepted that Harry will likely have to continue this mission without him, and should be trying to teach him as much as possible about dark magic.
This movie should not, under any circumstance, have been made a PG movie. The movies are getting darker, obviously, because that is natural order of things. Sectumsempra was a joke, and Harry making Dumbledore drink the potion was a joke also. It seemed as though he was only slightly inconvenienced by drinking the potion that Voldemort created to protect a piece of his soul.
Not to mention, if you're going to include Quidditch at all, why not include the most important matches?
Where on earth was Rufus Scrimgeour? He's cast for the next movie, so apparently they plan on bringing him into the story. But he dies early on in Deathly Hallows, so for what purpose, at this point? The Ministry was not mentioned at all.
Harry NOR Dumbledore would ever refer to him as "The Chosen One," it's a ridiculous title conjured up by the Daily Prophet.
The Harry/Ginny relationship...well...it wasn't mentioned too terribly much in the book either, except for Harry's apparent infatuation, so I don't have many complaints there. I understand why the kiss was where it was, because they needed to combine a couple storylines to get them in.
I absolutely despise the man who has been playing Dumbledore from movies, what, 3-now? He hasn't read the books for one thing (not required by any means, but you're freaking DUMBLEDORE), has no desire to, and the director is letting him play the character however he wants. I felt nothing when he died in the movie, when the night before I could not stop crying when I re-read the whole terrible ordeal. The Order not coming and all that was an insult to his death, and his life. The fact that no one hardly noticed until Bellatrix made a raucous exit is just wrong. Maybe not for movie Dumbledore though.
He's always been confrontational, and I've never felt the fatherly chemistry between him and Harry that is apparent through the books, and should be easier to convey on screen! At the end of Order of the Phoenix, I truly didn't believe him when he told Harry he cared about him. I've been upset about how they cast this role ever since the first Dumbledore died, and I'm still sad about it, because that adorable old man WAS Albus Dumbledore. But there's nothing to be done, so moving on...
Daniel Radcliffe did better in this movie than I feel he has in the past few. I really enjoyed his performance and connected with Harry quite well. Emma Watson and Rupert Grint were both perfect, and I admit I liked the mutual understanding that Harry and Hermione felt about Ron and Ginny. The Weasley twins were perfect as ever, and Lavender was a perfect cast choice. Luna is amazing.
I agree with Brett on Bellatrix and Snape...Helena Bonham Carter and Alan Rickman were born to play these roles. They are brilliant villains, and I can't imagine anyone else in the world playing them.
Side note: I like how the title of the movie is "Half-Blood Prince," and Snape just mentioned that it's him rather as a side note at the end...nor do we hear much about the book throughout the movie...but anyway...
Slughorn was all wrong for the role. I'm not saying his entire performance was bad, he had moments, but far too few.
Harry on Felix Felicis was the funniest thing I've ever seen. Disregard the fact that he was acting drunk, it was hilarious (same with Ron on the love potion - brilliant).
I'm on the fence about Malfoy, though I didn't much like his mother (although the Unbreakable Vow was flawless). I thought parts of his performance were quite good, others did seem forced. I think he wasn't given the ample opportunity to play this role as he may have deserved.
Also, why couldn't they have just made Felix gold and Voldemort's potion green? It's the color of the book cover for goodness sakes...
I suppose that's about it for this rant. I'll probably see the movie again soon, to give it another chance, but I'm quite sure I'll only find more to be upset about.
I shouldn't have re-read the book right before, and I know that. But I feel deceived by the previews, because they suggest accuracy to a high degree, which just wasn't the case.
And honestly, I was quite tame throughout the movie, but the end brought everything crashing down. it for you!
Mucho spoilers in this post, so I'll politely
Oh my, where on earth to begin.
For the first 3/4 of the movie, it was all fine. I was willing to let everything go as we plowed onward to the crux of the film, the seemingly inevitable and undoubtedly epic climax.
That never came.
Engulfed by my fury, I must admit that I'm being harder on the film as a whole than I otherwise would have been had there been a fight at the end. I'm not even saying the fight would have had to be frame-by-frame identical to the book, not by any means (the exception being, perhaps, someone dying who shouldn't have). Things that were even close to the book, I was thrilled by. I accepted each plot twist and analyzed why they changed certain things with interest, not anger. But by the end, I was horrified.
I'll work from the most serious offense to the least.
I've already mentioned the lack of a battle at the end. I saw on Brett's post that it's possible they excluded the fight to "make the next movies more exciting," or something along those lines. I can't even speak to the idiocy of this argument. What upsets me the most about the lack of a fight is that it's totally unrealistic. What are the odds that 1) Dumbledore would leave the castle virtually unprotected in his absence, and 2) No professors (namely McGonagall) OR Aurors (who were supposedly stationed at Hogwarts for extra protection) would notice, at the VERY LEAST, Bellatrix destroying the Great Hall and setting Hagrid's Hut on fire?? The Death Eaters just walked right into the castle, killed Dumbledore, and strolled right back out, wreaking random havoc on their way.
There is just no way that the death of one of the most powerful wizards to ever live would go so entirely unnoticed.
Not to mention that right after they made their "escape," the entire school was gathered around Dumbledore's body. What exactly woke anyone up, if they were too dense to notice things getting destroyed?
Furthermore, no one from the Order EVER showed up. Could there even be the slightest chance that they wouldn't ALL be there the moment that news spread that Dumbledore died? Can you even imagine how quickly that news would get to any member of the Order, let alone all of them?? But no, none came. And Hagrid never defended his burning home, either, so I suppose that's as burned to the ground as the Burrow, eh?
Which brings me to my next point. Why add in the scene where the Burrow burns down at all? What is the point? This was the first point in the movie that I was too angry to keep my comments to myself. Firstly, Harry runs through the fire after Bellatrix, and NO member of the Order is capable of getting rid of the fire they created? YOU'RE WIZARDS, PUT THE FIRE OUT WITH WATER. For God's sake! And who knows if the Bill/Fleur wedding will happen now...not that I care particularly, that plot point is well and good being left out, but it's a minor annoyance.
Of all the memories of Tom Riddle to be viewed by Harry through Dumbledore, the most important ones, the ones that are crucial to the next two movies, were omitted. Harry is wandering blindly into his mission of finding Horcruxes. Dumbledore never mentioned anything about Riddle's love of collecting trophies, nor are we made aware of the significance of the objects he would choose to hide pieces of his soul in (quite to my surprise, movie Dumbledore even goes so far as to agree with Harry that they could be ANYTHING, which is so FALSE!). Book Dumbledore assures Harry that the objects would have meaning, AND that there would likely be 6 Horcruxes.
Nor does Dumbledore ever explain how he figured out that a Horcrux would be in that particular cave. He does nothing whatsoever throughout that entire scene to instruct Harry as to what he's doing and why, which I find appalling because Dumbledore has already accepted that Harry will likely have to continue this mission without him, and should be trying to teach him as much as possible about dark magic.
This movie should not, under any circumstance, have been made a PG movie. The movies are getting darker, obviously, because that is natural order of things. Sectumsempra was a joke, and Harry making Dumbledore drink the potion was a joke also. It seemed as though he was only slightly inconvenienced by drinking the potion that Voldemort created to protect a piece of his soul.
Not to mention, if you're going to include Quidditch at all, why not include the most important matches?
Where on earth was Rufus Scrimgeour? He's cast for the next movie, so apparently they plan on bringing him into the story. But he dies early on in Deathly Hallows, so for what purpose, at this point? The Ministry was not mentioned at all.
Harry NOR Dumbledore would ever refer to him as "The Chosen One," it's a ridiculous title conjured up by the Daily Prophet.
The Harry/Ginny relationship...well...it wasn't mentioned too terribly much in the book either, except for Harry's apparent infatuation, so I don't have many complaints there. I understand why the kiss was where it was, because they needed to combine a couple storylines to get them in.
I absolutely despise the man who has been playing Dumbledore from movies, what, 3-now? He hasn't read the books for one thing (not required by any means, but you're freaking DUMBLEDORE), has no desire to, and the director is letting him play the character however he wants. I felt nothing when he died in the movie, when the night before I could not stop crying when I re-read the whole terrible ordeal. The Order not coming and all that was an insult to his death, and his life. The fact that no one hardly noticed until Bellatrix made a raucous exit is just wrong. Maybe not for movie Dumbledore though.
He's always been confrontational, and I've never felt the fatherly chemistry between him and Harry that is apparent through the books, and should be easier to convey on screen! At the end of Order of the Phoenix, I truly didn't believe him when he told Harry he cared about him. I've been upset about how they cast this role ever since the first Dumbledore died, and I'm still sad about it, because that adorable old man WAS Albus Dumbledore. But there's nothing to be done, so moving on...
Daniel Radcliffe did better in this movie than I feel he has in the past few. I really enjoyed his performance and connected with Harry quite well. Emma Watson and Rupert Grint were both perfect, and I admit I liked the mutual understanding that Harry and Hermione felt about Ron and Ginny. The Weasley twins were perfect as ever, and Lavender was a perfect cast choice. Luna is amazing.
I agree with Brett on Bellatrix and Snape...Helena Bonham Carter and Alan Rickman were born to play these roles. They are brilliant villains, and I can't imagine anyone else in the world playing them.
Side note: I like how the title of the movie is "Half-Blood Prince," and Snape just mentioned that it's him rather as a side note at the end...nor do we hear much about the book throughout the movie...but anyway...
Slughorn was all wrong for the role. I'm not saying his entire performance was bad, he had moments, but far too few.
Harry on Felix Felicis was the funniest thing I've ever seen. Disregard the fact that he was acting drunk, it was hilarious (same with Ron on the love potion - brilliant).
I'm on the fence about Malfoy, though I didn't much like his mother (although the Unbreakable Vow was flawless). I thought parts of his performance were quite good, others did seem forced. I think he wasn't given the ample opportunity to play this role as he may have deserved.
Also, why couldn't they have just made Felix gold and Voldemort's potion green? It's the color of the book cover for goodness sakes...
I suppose that's about it for this rant. I'll probably see the movie again soon, to give it another chance, but I'm quite sure I'll only find more to be upset about.
I shouldn't have re-read the book right before, and I know that. But I feel deceived by the previews, because they suggest accuracy to a high degree, which just wasn't the case.
And honestly, I was quite tame throughout the movie, but the end brought everything crashing down. it for you!