Half Blood Prince - the Film...
Jul. 22nd, 2009 05:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kennahijjaActually, I already saw it a week ago on the first night with my two best friends, and thought I let it simmer in my brain to create a better effect. So far, no luck.
The best I can come up with is 'un-memorable'. I disliked OotP, the book, but much prefered the fifth film. HPB... way too much teenage romancing, a Harry/Ginny relationship that worked even less than in the book (and that's saying something!). Add to it, too much left out in exchange for adding silly stuff not-canon, and nothing as strikingly memorable as the Ministry battle in the last film.
Now, I'm not saying it was bad! It was enjoyable, and the second half even picked up the pace. It just wasn't good with sparkles, or memorable.
Draco was bloody amazing, stunningly grown up and forced to act for the first time after being cardboardy all through, and it worked. Ron was great too, but backgrounded in a way compared to Hermione and Harry that made me very unhappy. His relationship with Lavender was hilarious and yes, he did act very well. Still a bit too much comic relief for my Ron!love, but impressive. Hermione just... annoys me more and more from film to film, and Harry... well, not bad, but nothing to write home about either...
Snape was gorgeous as always, if rather backgrounded too. I particularly liked his almost chokingly quiet argument with Dumbledore, which was utterly convincing and powerful. Slughorn I couldn't quite get used to, although there were some very, very ambiguous moments which had me collapsing in the cinema seat because my dirty mind went all sorts of places :). Way too little of Tom Riddle (not just for my taste, also not remotely enough to fuel the Horcrux plot in the next book, unless they reduce their numbers). However, it felt like a rounded film plot, unlike, say, PoA...
Narcissa was much better than I'd expected, but all frantic mother and nothing of the edgy threats that dominate the meeting between her and Harry in Diagon Alley in the book. I can see that working for the next movie too, but it's not the strong woman I was hoping for.
The cave scene and the tower were excellent visually, though, and the visuals of the Death Eater disapparations were done spectacularly well. And ohyes, the Hogwarts Express Draco-kicks-Harry bit! Whee! :)
There were a few subjective bits I missed badly - I don't think we even get that Fenrir Greyback was a werewolf, the motivation for the Sectumsempra was gone and there were no consequences of it for Harry at all. And I could've done without yet another trio-chatter at the end (or a turnaround), because I felt that cutting after the empty Great Hall would have been a much more poignant effect...
My main problem is that I watched and almost instantly forgot, which isn't a good thing. Well, maybe after a second viewing, this time in the original...
The best I can come up with is 'un-memorable'. I disliked OotP, the book, but much prefered the fifth film. HPB... way too much teenage romancing, a Harry/Ginny relationship that worked even less than in the book (and that's saying something!). Add to it, too much left out in exchange for adding silly stuff not-canon, and nothing as strikingly memorable as the Ministry battle in the last film.
Now, I'm not saying it was bad! It was enjoyable, and the second half even picked up the pace. It just wasn't good with sparkles, or memorable.
Draco was bloody amazing, stunningly grown up and forced to act for the first time after being cardboardy all through, and it worked. Ron was great too, but backgrounded in a way compared to Hermione and Harry that made me very unhappy. His relationship with Lavender was hilarious and yes, he did act very well. Still a bit too much comic relief for my Ron!love, but impressive. Hermione just... annoys me more and more from film to film, and Harry... well, not bad, but nothing to write home about either...
Snape was gorgeous as always, if rather backgrounded too. I particularly liked his almost chokingly quiet argument with Dumbledore, which was utterly convincing and powerful. Slughorn I couldn't quite get used to, although there were some very, very ambiguous moments which had me collapsing in the cinema seat because my dirty mind went all sorts of places :). Way too little of Tom Riddle (not just for my taste, also not remotely enough to fuel the Horcrux plot in the next book, unless they reduce their numbers). However, it felt like a rounded film plot, unlike, say, PoA...
Narcissa was much better than I'd expected, but all frantic mother and nothing of the edgy threats that dominate the meeting between her and Harry in Diagon Alley in the book. I can see that working for the next movie too, but it's not the strong woman I was hoping for.
The cave scene and the tower were excellent visually, though, and the visuals of the Death Eater disapparations were done spectacularly well. And ohyes, the Hogwarts Express Draco-kicks-Harry bit! Whee! :)
There were a few subjective bits I missed badly - I don't think we even get that Fenrir Greyback was a werewolf, the motivation for the Sectumsempra was gone and there were no consequences of it for Harry at all. And I could've done without yet another trio-chatter at the end (or a turnaround), because I felt that cutting after the empty Great Hall would have been a much more poignant effect...
My main problem is that I watched and almost instantly forgot, which isn't a good thing. Well, maybe after a second viewing, this time in the original...
