The Half-Blood Review
Just got back from the latest Harry Potter flick and, as always, have a review to give you. Be warned, of course, that this review is filled with spoilers for both film and book, so if you don't want to know anything about either of them, then I advise you to graze the web elsewhere. Otherwise, proceed into the realm that is my nerd-dom.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Its one of the best books in the series. It has the tightest plot, it is structured securely, and it features a level of characterization that takes our friends, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, to a new level of intimacy. That being said, one would assume that the film would be equally as gripping.
In truth, about a third of the way through the film, I intended to come on here and say 'The film is GREAT.' This quickly proceeded to 'good,' and then proceeded to '...I'm honestly not sure what this film is.'
I can tell you that it is beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. The coloring, the landscapes, the camera angles and shots--exquisite. A 'Gothic' feel was described to me, and that's very true. This film is darker not only in picture but in its presence as well. The characters, everything in fact, has a mature feeling to it. And that includes acting. All of them, and I actually MEAN all of them this time, including Emma Watson, have leaped milestones. They've all got better grips on themselves and their own presences on camera. That being said, there is still work to be done, but there are moments of genuine hilarity in both Harry and Ron, and Tom Felton's Draco is a wonderful piece of intricate work. As for the previously mentioned Emma Watson, all I can say is 'wow'. Not because she was stunningly amazingly oh-my-god the best actress ever, but because of how natural she became in this film. There were touches, in fact, of the Hermione I knew and loved from the books, insecurities and all (because as we all know, Hermione is NOT the girl-power pink-wearing freak we see in the films, but a beautifully real woman with flaws). As for my OTP, Ron and Hermione, God, I was so pleasantly pleased with all of it (except that last scene, though I'll get to it later). As always, Rupert and Emma have glorious chemistry, but that's not really what shines in this. Emma just did an amazing job pining for Ron. In the book, of course, Ron loves Hermione but desperately wants to make her jealous; not so in this film, although it does seem clear that he's just not quite sure HOW he feels about her. So on that issue, I suppose I ought to be well pleased, especially considering that this was written by Steve Kloves (who I will again get to later).
As for the other couple in the film, it is very clearly established that THAT's who you're supposed to root for, and that THAT's who's going to end up together. But Harry and Ginny... just didn't work for me. Bonnie Wright, who is a very calm, gentle person by nature, brought that to the character and none of Ginny's ferocity and vivaciousness, which of course is what catches Harry's eye in the book. In the film, I found myself going along with the H/G story because that's just what I was supposed to do. 'Here's this, veiwer, you should buy it! It's awesome!' 'Hmm, ok... it tastes kinda funny though...' Several forced moments of 'chemsitry' later...
I'm being harsh, I suppose, but the whole feeling of Harry and Ginny, though, was not one of soulmates. Instead, we were given Kloves' typical 'let's write a romantic moment' bit, where he creates something contrived for the characters instead of actually pulling from the book itself. (For further examples of this, see his other work with Ron and Hermione in Sorceror's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, and Goblet of Fire.) I hope that, when the average viewer leaves this film, they understand and want Harry and Ginny to be together, but I doubt that.
And see, that's where this all becomes an issue for me. If these movies are done for everyone, then why are some of the most crucial moments of character and plot development glazed over? This makes it seem as though the movies are made only for those who have already read the books. But then, if THAT is the case, then why are our beloved works given to men like Steve Kloves?
And here's the beef with him: I honestly did not feel that it was as much of a Kloves work until the very end. Ron was given a wonderful amount of canon moments, and Hermione was given an equal amount of canon moments, which has never EVER been Kloves' trend. But then, the very last scene of the film, after Dumbledore has died, we see Harry and Hermione at the top of the astronomy tower... with Ron hovering in the background. He has not one word of dialogue to contribute, even though this scene lasts about five minutes. To me, it seems clear that Kloves wrote a Harry and Hermione scene, and David Yates, the director, was the one who insisted Ron be there. It put a nasty finish on the whole film.
And I know I have David Yates to thank for a film that, once again like Order of the Phoenix, felt VERY Potter. He orchestrated a BEAUTIFUL film, but it is shockingly different from film five. While Order was filled with action and movement, Prince is filled with... long... dialogue... long... scenes... long... everything.
The film is just LONG. And some of the editing strikes me as odd and off, partly because of acting comfort level and partly because someone just dropped the ball. To me it seems apparent that the real reason the Weasley house (the Burrow) is attacked mid-film (and then subsequently dropped afterward because it wasn't in the book and no one DID react to it in the book because, oh yeah, it wasn't there) is because the film was so damn SLOW up till then. A huge, firey, dramatic attack is NESSECARY to keep the audience from falling asleep.
All of this is mildly refreshing, and mildly frustrating, all at the same time. I say mildly, because this film rarely instigated me to react strongly (with the exception of the very last scene). The most brilliant points of it are the comedy scenes. Rupert and Dan have absolutely glorious friendship moments--from a squabble over a book to an awkwardly hilarious discussion about Ginny and Hermione's skin being lovely, they really brought moments of light into a very dark, slow film.
But I hesitate to complain too much about the pacing. For once it was nice to be able to sit back and watch a Potter film like it was a mystery (only bad thing being, of course, is that I already know how the mystery ends up). I still have the horrid memory of the five to ten minute long dragon chase scene in Goblet of Fire which was unnecessary and a waste of time to add action to something that didn't need it. Here, anything added served a purpose. I'm just not sure it was enough.
On the whole...
I still cannot decide how well I liked it. It was certainly the most beautiful, best acted, and best directed film of the series. It was also the most tedious, and, I fear to say, the least important of the films made, even though so many important discoveries happen in the book! But by the end of this film, you're left feeling like you were stuck in one large loop. And it has raised my hopes for the last two films. I think that, given more time, perhaps Kloves and Yates and team themselves together to create something truly wonderful.
I do not give it a negative. I do not give it a positive. It was OK, which is all, I suppose, it really needed to be.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Its one of the best books in the series. It has the tightest plot, it is structured securely, and it features a level of characterization that takes our friends, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, to a new level of intimacy. That being said, one would assume that the film would be equally as gripping.
In truth, about a third of the way through the film, I intended to come on here and say 'The film is GREAT.' This quickly proceeded to 'good,' and then proceeded to '...I'm honestly not sure what this film is.'
I can tell you that it is beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. The coloring, the landscapes, the camera angles and shots--exquisite. A 'Gothic' feel was described to me, and that's very true. This film is darker not only in picture but in its presence as well. The characters, everything in fact, has a mature feeling to it. And that includes acting. All of them, and I actually MEAN all of them this time, including Emma Watson, have leaped milestones. They've all got better grips on themselves and their own presences on camera. That being said, there is still work to be done, but there are moments of genuine hilarity in both Harry and Ron, and Tom Felton's Draco is a wonderful piece of intricate work. As for the previously mentioned Emma Watson, all I can say is 'wow'. Not because she was stunningly amazingly oh-my-god the best actress ever, but because of how natural she became in this film. There were touches, in fact, of the Hermione I knew and loved from the books, insecurities and all (because as we all know, Hermione is NOT the girl-power pink-wearing freak we see in the films, but a beautifully real woman with flaws). As for my OTP, Ron and Hermione, God, I was so pleasantly pleased with all of it (except that last scene, though I'll get to it later). As always, Rupert and Emma have glorious chemistry, but that's not really what shines in this. Emma just did an amazing job pining for Ron. In the book, of course, Ron loves Hermione but desperately wants to make her jealous; not so in this film, although it does seem clear that he's just not quite sure HOW he feels about her. So on that issue, I suppose I ought to be well pleased, especially considering that this was written by Steve Kloves (who I will again get to later).
As for the other couple in the film, it is very clearly established that THAT's who you're supposed to root for, and that THAT's who's going to end up together. But Harry and Ginny... just didn't work for me. Bonnie Wright, who is a very calm, gentle person by nature, brought that to the character and none of Ginny's ferocity and vivaciousness, which of course is what catches Harry's eye in the book. In the film, I found myself going along with the H/G story because that's just what I was supposed to do. 'Here's this, veiwer, you should buy it! It's awesome!' 'Hmm, ok... it tastes kinda funny though...' Several forced moments of 'chemsitry' later...
I'm being harsh, I suppose, but the whole feeling of Harry and Ginny, though, was not one of soulmates. Instead, we were given Kloves' typical 'let's write a romantic moment' bit, where he creates something contrived for the characters instead of actually pulling from the book itself. (For further examples of this, see his other work with Ron and Hermione in Sorceror's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, and Goblet of Fire.) I hope that, when the average viewer leaves this film, they understand and want Harry and Ginny to be together, but I doubt that.
And see, that's where this all becomes an issue for me. If these movies are done for everyone, then why are some of the most crucial moments of character and plot development glazed over? This makes it seem as though the movies are made only for those who have already read the books. But then, if THAT is the case, then why are our beloved works given to men like Steve Kloves?
And here's the beef with him: I honestly did not feel that it was as much of a Kloves work until the very end. Ron was given a wonderful amount of canon moments, and Hermione was given an equal amount of canon moments, which has never EVER been Kloves' trend. But then, the very last scene of the film, after Dumbledore has died, we see Harry and Hermione at the top of the astronomy tower... with Ron hovering in the background. He has not one word of dialogue to contribute, even though this scene lasts about five minutes. To me, it seems clear that Kloves wrote a Harry and Hermione scene, and David Yates, the director, was the one who insisted Ron be there. It put a nasty finish on the whole film.
And I know I have David Yates to thank for a film that, once again like Order of the Phoenix, felt VERY Potter. He orchestrated a BEAUTIFUL film, but it is shockingly different from film five. While Order was filled with action and movement, Prince is filled with... long... dialogue... long... scenes... long... everything.
The film is just LONG. And some of the editing strikes me as odd and off, partly because of acting comfort level and partly because someone just dropped the ball. To me it seems apparent that the real reason the Weasley house (the Burrow) is attacked mid-film (and then subsequently dropped afterward because it wasn't in the book and no one DID react to it in the book because, oh yeah, it wasn't there) is because the film was so damn SLOW up till then. A huge, firey, dramatic attack is NESSECARY to keep the audience from falling asleep.
All of this is mildly refreshing, and mildly frustrating, all at the same time. I say mildly, because this film rarely instigated me to react strongly (with the exception of the very last scene). The most brilliant points of it are the comedy scenes. Rupert and Dan have absolutely glorious friendship moments--from a squabble over a book to an awkwardly hilarious discussion about Ginny and Hermione's skin being lovely, they really brought moments of light into a very dark, slow film.
But I hesitate to complain too much about the pacing. For once it was nice to be able to sit back and watch a Potter film like it was a mystery (only bad thing being, of course, is that I already know how the mystery ends up). I still have the horrid memory of the five to ten minute long dragon chase scene in Goblet of Fire which was unnecessary and a waste of time to add action to something that didn't need it. Here, anything added served a purpose. I'm just not sure it was enough.
On the whole...
I still cannot decide how well I liked it. It was certainly the most beautiful, best acted, and best directed film of the series. It was also the most tedious, and, I fear to say, the least important of the films made, even though so many important discoveries happen in the book! But by the end of this film, you're left feeling like you were stuck in one large loop. And it has raised my hopes for the last two films. I think that, given more time, perhaps Kloves and Yates and team themselves together to create something truly wonderful.
I do not give it a negative. I do not give it a positive. It was OK, which is all, I suppose, it really needed to be.