I headed out to watch “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” last night with a good friend.
“Half Blood Prince” is the sixth book, and sold itself on the rumour that somebody important died at the end. Back when the book was released, the text appeared on the internet a few days before the book went on sale, and I remember giving a copy of the PDF (which was littered with spelling mistakes) to another good friend. She of course read the final chapter and ruined it for herself.
Apart from the obvious twist in the plot, what did I think of the movie? I guess the quickest way of writing this up will be a few observations;
The kids are finally turning into good actors.
Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) is quite possibly going to be a very big star.
Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) is going to adorn posters on lots of teenage boys walls.
Dame Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall) suddenly looks very frail.
Alan Rickman (Professor Snape) is reliably brilliant.
Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) is very, very good indeed.
Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix LeStrange) lights the screen up during her brief appearances - and outclasses all around her.
The more tender scenes between Harry and Ginny, and Ron and Hermione steal the movie
Dumbledore’s line “Oh to be young, and feel love’s keen sting” caused all the adults in the audience to smile
In many ways “Half Blood Price” feels like a set-up for the final movie(s) - which of course it is. I could draw parallels with the middle Lord of the Rings movie - and while it tells several hours worth of back story to make the final part of the story work, it misses out an awful lot of the books.
footnote - Neville Longbottom’s backstory appears to be have been completely written out of the movies - which leaves Bellatrix LeStrange with no real reason to be there, apart from just being a nasty piece of work (and incredibly beautiful)…