Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Brief:
The sixth instalment of the Harry Potter series begins, unexpectedly, with two entire chapters that are not seen from Harry's point of view. The first of these chapters provides an excellent backdrop for the novel, showing us the blurring line between the Wizarding and Muggle worlds and giving us a taste for the havoc that the Death Eaters can inflict. It also manages to be hilarious. The second chapter gives us a tiny hint of insight into what Voldemort might be planning, setting the stage for some suspense later on, and makes the villains of the story three dimensional.
In fact, this entire story focuses on the villains and the spies and the characters with questionable or unknown loyalties. We watch as Harry desperately attempts to catch his least favourite characters in wrongdoing, to find evidence that will back up his theories. And throughout the story we know a tiny bit more than Harry does, but not quite enough. The suspense in this one is excellent, and the characterizations go to a whole new level as we learn more about previously minor/'two dimensional' characters.
While terrible things are happening, and we can feel the series building to it's climax, this book still manages to have a lighter feeling than Order of the Phoenix. This is because Harry is no longer ostracized by the entire Wizarding world; no longer ignored by Dumbledore; no longer as completely miserable and alone as he was in the fifth book. There's a sense of hope, a sense that, now the characters understand what they're facing, they might be able to do something about it.
It's also still a Harry Potter book in the sense that we still learn new magic along with Harry and his friends, we still see some Quidditch, and Fred and George's humour still manages to make an appearance. And yes, there is a large amount of romance in this book, but Rowling handles it well, allowing her characters to be teenagers trying to find love while poking fun at the whole thing.
As for the movie, for the first time after watching a Potter film, I came out very unsure what to think of it. My advice is, read the book, laugh at the funny parts in the movie, and rest assured that when someone does remake the Order of the Phoenix film this one will be next in line.
BEYOND THIS POINT THERE BE SPOILERS
Movie bonuses:
I'm starting with bonuses so I can get them over with before moving on to my regrets rant, but again, this movie was by no stretch of the imagination anywhere nearly as bad Order of the Phoenix.
First of all, finally, they've found something that Daniel Radcliffe can act well. He was great as Harry on Felix Felicis.
Second of all, just the fact that we got to see a tiny bit more Snape and Draco in this movie was excellent. Tom Felton was amazing in the Sectumsempra scene.
Also, the kid who plays child!Voldemort was absolutely amazing. I was even able to overlook how much I hate Gambon as Dumbledore in that Orphanage scene. There was no shadow of a doubt in my mind watching him that this was eleven year old Riddle.
The scene with Katie was amazingly well done. It's just as strange and terrifying as it is in the book.
Movie Regrets:
It seems as if they've attempted to change it from a Harry Potter movie into a teenage drama of some type, clinging desperately to every hint of romance in the books and magnifying them by a hundred. Instead of the wonderfully character-driven plot of the sixth book, a plot that fleshes out so many of the grey areas and characters in the Wizarding world, we get Harry and gang living in a bubble that may as well be an American high school except that, oh yeah, Harry does some stuff that may be connected to Voldemort somehow and there's something to do with a Half-Blood Prince… or someone…
And it wasn't even as if the romance was well done. The moments between Harry and Ginny were terrible… so terrible you wonder who was writing this nonsense: certainly not J.K. Rowling. The shoe tying scene was horrendous and the whole thing just generally … grossed me out.
Also, why is this movie called the Half Blood Prince? You'd think they'd at least spend ten more seconds on the scene where we find out who the Prince is, but no, there's no time for that when teenagers are falling in love!
Move over Voldemort and Horcruxes, Harry needs to meet some random Muggle girl at a random restaurant and have a pointless conversation with her.
Instead of an epic battle scene at the end of the book we get to see Bellatrix burn down the burrow and run around in a field. Oh, and she gets to kick aside some plates and cups in the great hall too. I don't for one second buy the nonsense about it "ruining" the final battle scene in Deathly Hallows. It would have helped build up towards the final battle by showing how ruthless the Death Eaters can be. It was also the epic climax of this book, without it the whole stupid cabinet thing that Draco does is completely pointless.
There were also many tiny details missing that it would have been so easy to keep in without adding extra screen time, details that really are quite necessary for this to make sense. We have already seen the Invisibility Cloak, why does it no longer exist now when it is crucial to the plot? Harry hiding under the stairs and watching as Dumbledore gets killed without even attempting to do anything, or even yelling out, is ridiculous. He needed to be under that invisibility cloak, paralyzed with the Petrificus Totalus spell.
How difficult would it have been to let Alan Rickman go on for five more seconds and say the "Don't call me coward" line? Why were there Death Eaters with Draco when he went to Borgin and Burke's and how in the world did the trio get up on that roof to watch it? Tonks is nonexistent, Fleur nowhere to be seen. No hint of Appartition lessons or any classes except Slughorn's.
World-Building Rating:
The book receives a rating of Awesome. As with every new episode Rowling masterfully expands the world that we know so well. There are new characters, new spells, new events, and new dangers.
The movie, while not terrible, doesn't rely on world-building or add anything new to the world. Some scenes were well done, visually, like the scene in Slughorn's house, but the source material provided for much wider possibilities. I'll rate this one Decent.
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