Half-Blood Prince: Your verdict?

Jul 16, 2009 3:41 AM

Offline

Mar 2008

1101

Pretty straightforward - post here with your thoughts on the new movie!!! x)

Oh, and don't read this if you don't want spoilers, obviously ^__^;;

Well I wanna give a brief bit of background - I hated Order of the Phoenix. Well, "hated" is a bit strong. It was a disappointment. It was too short, the acting was the worst in the whole series, the soundtrack was boring, and they ruined Sirius' death.

As such, I expected Half-Blood Prince to be on a similar level, with two certain improvements in that Dan had promised "not to be on auto-pilot" and the original screenwriter was returning (THANK YOU, STEVE KLOVES!!!). So I wasn't about to be disappointed, but I didn't have high hopes.

The very first scene in the movie told me that this was a contender to be my favourite Harry Potter film of them all.

This film was AMAZING. I don't wish to give too many spoilers, but here are some highlights:
> The repeated mentions of Sirius' death (Harry actually seems more upset in this film than in the last one)
> Nicholas Hooper's score was much better this time
> Lavender was BRILLIANT
> Helena Bonham Carter stole every scene she was in
> Rupert Grint was of course perfect ^^
> Ditto for Alan Rickman >ww<
> Katie being cursed by the necklace gave me the chills
> Harry under the influence of Felix Felicis, that was brilliant xD

The romance was dealt with pretty well, although it was admittedly quite heavy-handed at points. Ginny - OH MY GOD - was Ginny-like, and didn't seem seven years old, although she was a little on the creepy side ^__^;; And even though the romance felt over-done at points, it was for good reason, because it really emphasised Draco's isolation.

And dear lord, Tom Felton was amazing as Draco. I knew he would be good, but not quite this good. In fact, he may even have out-done Alan Rickman, which is saying something! His portrayal was perfect.

Now on for the total surprises (as far as I'm concerned): Slughorn and Dumbledore.

When Jim Broadbent was cast as Slughorn I couldn't see it working. How wrong I was! From his first scene, Broadbent was perfect in the role, loveable but repulsive at the same time - just like with the book, I couldn't decide whether or not I liked him.

And Dumbledore. Well, I think pretty much everyone hates Gambon's interpretation of Dumbledore. He has had a few Dumbledore-y moments so far, but on the whole he is either Dumbledore-neutral or extremely un-Dumbledore (e.g. "HARRY DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIRE? ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY SURE??" *facepalm*) But from the very first scene, I thought, "Hang on. That's actually Dumbledore!" He was fantastic throughout the movie, showing the compassion and twinkle that we all know and love. Then when he was drinking the potion... Well, I was crying. I didn't want this Dumbledore to be hurt, it was so beautifully done. And then I cried like a baby the whole scene atop the Astronomy Tower, and again when they showed Dumbledore's portrait in his office, and yet again when Fawkes flew away...

Overall I'd have to give the film at least 9/10. I thought it was fantastic, the adaptation from the book was very loyal, and although they obviously had to cut corners, they managed it very well. I always watch these films collecting criticisms, but by the end I maybe only had about a dozen, and they were all such tiny things that didn't even matter. It's a fantastic movie that everyone should see!!

Jul 17, 2009 8:12 AM

-Chrissi-chan-

Offline

Mar 2008

749

Yep, definitely a winner ;3

My personal highlights:
> TOM FELTON!!!!!! Draco has always been my third favourite character (behind Harry and Snape) and Tom Felton has always done absolutely brilliantly but after having about two lines in Order of the Phoenix I was a little worried as to how he'd do this film. I needn't have been worried. He is an acting genius >w<

>The Opening Scene: seriously.. I almost cried because I loved it so much. Thank you thank you thank you to the lighting guys, Mark Day and Bruno Delbonnel for being brilliant. And thank you Nicholas Hooper for ironing out your inconsistencies to create a score which excelled especially in that scene

>which brings me neatly onto: the Score. So so so much better than Order of the Phoenix. I have to say, I was really disappointed when I found out that Hooper was staying on (maybe helped by the fact that I adored Doyle's score for Goblet) but now I'm alright that he's still working on the movies >w< favourite themes: the opening scene, fireworks (from Order), the theme when Dumbledore and Harry first go to the Cave and the theme when Draco walks to the Room of Requirement to let Bellatrix-tachi through.

>The Screenplay: THANK YOU STEVE KLOVES!!! after Micheal Goldenburg's attempt at Order, this was like heaven. Goldenburg's alright when he's doing original scenes (Harry's monologue in the Family Tree room is brilliant and listen carefully to the weatherman in the scene with the Dursley's and you'll find him complaining about how the studio has no air conditioning; priceless) but he just can't adapt from JK-sama's dialogue. "Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon" DOESN'T MEAN WE ALL HAVE!!! In complete contrast, Kloves continually lifts directly from the book, even lifting description like the chandalier screwing itself back into the ceiling of the muggle house Slughorn's staying in. His pacing is supreme and the film is a good 153 minutes (making it second longest) and Kloves seems to give a lot more direction to the actors as well

>Acting: I realise I kind of left everyone else out by praising Tom Felton so much but all the actors did so so well in this film. Radcliffe is back on top form, Grint is supreme as always, Watson is also back from the mirky pause-y depths of Order and Michael Gambon has suddenly understood who Dumbledore is after three movies of not being too sure. Rickman, Bonham-Carter and Lynch are showstopping as always, but the most praise has to go to the newbies. Broadbent creates a wonderful (if not how I imagined him) Slughorn; the actor for Cormac is PERFECT and Jessie Caves (Lavender) is - once again - not how I imagined her but brilliant enough to make up for it. I loved her portrayal of Lavender - she deserves all the praise in the world :) Also, a massive mention to the amazing Hero Tiffin (young Volemort) who always gives me goosebumps ^__^

>Visual Effects: as always Tim Burke and the guys do amazingly: special love to the memories-going-into-the-pensieve effect (even if not so much love goes to the new pensieve) and the Death Eater's smoke trail (unsure how to describe that effect but I love it)

>and to finish, three favourite things about how Dumbledore's death was dealt with:
1. The Wand Salute
2. The Portrait in Dumbledore's Office
3. Fawke's

all three made me cry my eyes out ;w;

even on the second watch "xD

Jul 17, 2009 8:36 AM

deletemal

Offline

Mar 2008

1101

"Michael Gambon has suddenly understood who Dumbledore is after three movies of not being too sure" xD So true >w<

Agreed with you on everything, especially the actors: you picked out all the special ones :3

The only disappointing acting performance came from Hagrid, and I do think that they pushed Ginny's character too far in the "grown-up" direction, but even after the second watch those are the only significant criticisms that I can make :)

Oh, that and if you're a fan of Bill and/or Fleur... you will find disappointment. Even in a two-and-a-half-hour movie, you have to cut some things... ^__^;;

Aug 28, 2009 10:35 AM

-Chrissi-chan-

Offline

Mar 2008

749

alas, my Teri, we seem to be the only people with opinions on this film xDD

*apparates*

(remembering her three 'D's xP)

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Half-Blood Prince: Your verdict?

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» Favourite Pairings ;]] (het, yaoi or yuri)

» ::CLOSED:: THIS IS THE FINAL!!

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