[SPOILER ALERT] Reviews of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Movie
CAROL’S REVIEW
We are big Harry Potter fans. My boys have read the series and watched the movies many times. Last week, N15, B10, and I went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. We had soooooo wanted to go to the midnight showing like we did for the last HP movie, but it didn’t work out. Going to the midnight show is more fun because you get to join the biggest fans who are the most enthusiastic and excitable. Even so, I was still pretty excited when we went a couple days later.
I really liked the Half-Blood Prince. I love how they can make a movie just like I pictured it in my mind when reading the book. I had frequent déjà vu feelings when I watched it the first time. There were some things that were different from the book, but nothing that ruined the story.
We went again the next night with Derek and C7. By previewing the movie, I could prepare C7 for the scary parts and even cover her eyes when necessary. She didn’t jump at the inferius like I did the first time. 
(I expected them to be more boney.)
I loved the good and evil spiritual elements which were clearly demonstrated in this movie. I found the Christian symbolism to be right in line with C.S. Lewis and Tolkien.
What touched me the most in the movie was the young Tom Riddle. His face and his voice and his destiny saddened me. He had no parents. He was a child who had no one to love him. As an adult, he had no children on which to release his rage and anger which is a typical (unfortunate) result of such pain, thus he went down a (different) very dark road. Very Hitleresque.
It was hard to see Draco cope with his conflicts. You could feel his torment. He reminded me of Judas.
How Dumbledore treated Draco at the end was quite an example of sacrificial love. In that scene, Dumbledore saved Harry, Malfoy and Snape. I have always been a big fan of Snape’s, so it is hard to see him pictured as the bad guy in this movie. He was GREAT in the movie, still my favorite character/actor in the series. I didn’t hear “half-blood prince” explained – just his identity. The movie should have had more of Snape – it was named for him.
The phoenix flying in freedom gave me goosebumps. It made me feel like Dumbledore must still be alive.
I loved Luna and Slughorn. I missed seeing the Dursleys… and Dobby.
Dumbledore should have looked in the mirror when commenting on HARRY needing a shave. LOL
I’m still not a big Ginny fan. Maybe because many of her scenes are stupid – like in the Room of Requirement. Why did they need to hide the book in the first place? I did wonder who on earth ties shoes at bedtime? Who would have thought it would come in so handy for running through a corn field to a big puddle in time to escape a burning house!
Ron was funny, but slightly annoying. I loved Fred and George’s store!
I enjoyed both times the liquid luck was used (or thought to have been used).
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was definitely my favorite book of the series and my favorite HP movie so far.
As a side note, I was very excited to see the preview for New Moon coming in November, although it contained a spoiler of the coolest thing uncovered in the book. It looks great though. Woohoo!
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Vatican praises latest ‘Potter’
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-07-13-vatican-harry-potter_N.htm?obref=obnetwork
“The Vatican lauded the latest Harry Potter film on Monday, saying Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince made the age-old debate over good vs. evil crystal clear.”
“The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano even gave two thumbs up to the film’s treatment of adolescent love, saying it achieved the ‘correct balance’ and made the stars more credible to the general audience.”
“The newspaper said the film, which opens Wednesday, was the best adaptation yet of the J.K. Rowling series about the adventures of the bespectacled child wizard Harry Potter and his Hogwarts chums as they battle Harry’s nemesis, the evil sorcerer Voldemort.”
“While criticizing Rowling for omitting any explicit ‘reference to the transcendent’ in her books, L’Osservatore said the latest installment nevertheless makes clear that good should overcome evil ‘and that sometimes this requires costs and sacrifice.’”
“‘In addition, the spastic search for immortality epitomized by Voldemort is stigmatized,’ the review said.”
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N15′S REVIEW
-I think most of the actors fit their roles quite well.
-Draco gets a radically different role in this movie, and it’s played out very well.
-The movie is actually pretty funny at times.
-Ginny and Harry’s relationship was poorly done. Ginny herself is the worst developed character in the movies so far. Understandable because this is pretty much the first HP movie in which she actually has a talking role. It all seemed to just come out of no where.
-Severus doesn’t get enough screen time in the movie. Heck, they didn’t even have one Defence Against the Dark Arts class the movie. Alan Rickman is, IMO, the the best actor in the movie, and Severus is arguably one of the four most important characters in the book. So….you get the idea.
-The whole ‘who is the Half-Blood Prince!!!’ sub-plot was a disappointment to me in the book. Before the 6th book came out, I had all these theories about who it could be and all that. But then the book came out and ‘the identity of the Half-Blood Prince’ was just an afterthought that didn’t affect the main-storyline. And here we are with the movie, which didn’t even bother to fully explain ‘WHY’ Severus called himself that nickname in the first place.
-There are some important plot elements missing from the movie. ‘Most’ of the backstories about Tom Riddle, were taken out in the movie for example. Obviously it was to simplify things for the big screen, but I found those backstories to some of the most interesting parts of the book itself. Especially the story of Riddle’s parents, which is crucial to understanding Voldemort as a character.
-It also creates some story problems for the two Deathly Hallow’s movies, because right now in the movie storyline; Harry knows absolutely nothing about what the other Horcruxes might be. It was in the book’s stories about Riddle’s past that Dumbledore and Harry managed to narrow down what objects the Horcruxes might be.
-So…I guess Harry’s going to find out that crucial information from a different source in the next movie. Perhaps Harry and Company will sneak into Dumbledore’s study and go through all the memories he had stored there?
-Minor fan-criticisms aside, I really enjoyed the movie*. It’s easily the best of the series so far.
*in-fact, it’s only the second movie this year I truly enjoyed watching.
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B10′S REVIEW
I liked the Half-Blood Prince movie. Most of it was exactly like the book. There were some parts where it was not that much like the book, but most of it was.
My favorite part was when McLaggen threw up on Snape and Snape said, “That just earned you a month’s worth of detentions.”
I think that when the Death Eaters burned the Weasley’s house down that it was a fine addition.
I noticed it was blurry at times.
One thing I do not like, is that Dumbledore only has two sessions with Harry, which means Harry will have to find out about the other memorys in the next movie. Another thing I do not like is that they completely leave out Dobby and Kreacher, the house elves. I think they are going to make someone else rescue them from the Malfoy Manor and catch Mundungus Fletcher.
About The Author
Good reviews!
Like I mentioned on your facebook, I was really disappointed in Harry and Ginny’s relationship. I felt like I had been waiting forever to see her walk across the celebrating common room, instead Ron and Lavender got that scene
Very good reviews. Now I want to see the movie!