posted by admin on Jul 16
Caught a screening this morning and generally enjoyed the movie. We’ve come to know these characters so well it’s become closer to high quality TV rather than going to see an individual film. The wonderful thing about the first three, and possibly the fourth, movies in the series were that you could enjoy them without any knowledge of the other entries. Did not really hold true in the fifth and the sixth film, Half-Blood Prince, certainly demands the viewer have some knowledge of the previous films to have any chance at appreciating what is happening on screen. But given that it is the sixth film in the series I suppose this is unavoidable.
Watching this movie it becomes abundantly clear why the final book will be split into two parts for it’s cinematic release. We rush through several important events with plot points spilling out all over the place that director David Yates does take a few brief moments to slow down and let the characters, and the film, breath is a testament to the continued quality of the series. Having read the book they really needed another ninety minutes to properly tell the story but they do the best they can with the two and a half hour run time the the recent Potter installments all seem to fall into.
The quiet moments for the main characters force Yates to steamroll through any development of side characters often leaving a one dimensional set piece in the films wake but Rowling’s story continues to be excellent and the growth of the central characters emotionally resonant that it’s easy to forgive these transgressions.
One curious note: much of the book investigates who this mysterious Half-Blood Prince actually is but the movie has little time for this and simply reveals it in a line devoid of meaning because we’ve never been told to care who this mysterious character might be. Just felt really weird.
If you’ve enjoyed the series so far you won’t be disappointed but if you’ve had no interest in Potter-mania up to now this is not the place to start.
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