One complaint that I have with the movie is that it started off with Harry in a café of the London Underground, reading the Daily Prophet with the question, “Is Harry Potter the chosen one?” Much like how they did with “The Goblet of Fire,” the beginning of the book is not in the movie. I really loved the beginning of the book in “The Half-Blood Prince” because; long story short, Dumbledore ripped the Dursley’s to shreds.
So as the beginning goes on, Harry sees Dumbledore outside the station, which we don’t know how he got there, who takes him out for an important mission. These kids have definitely entered adolescence, especially Ron. After Harry Potter broke up with Cho Chang, he starts to develop a relationship with Ron’s sister, Ginny, played by Bonnie Wright, who I have to say, is a really strong character and supports Harry with whatever evil he is going to face.
Like I had just stated, this chapter in the series is a dark and more ominous film, and the conclusion sets you up for what dangers our main heroes will have to face. Ebert says that, “There was always a disconnect between Harry's enchanting school days at Hogwarts and the looming threat of Voldemort. Presumably it would take more than skills at Quidditch to defeat the dreaded Dark Lord.”
David Yates does the transition very subtly with one of them showing Hogwarts emptier, darker, and more ominous then how we previously saw it. The corridors, which looked very nice and you wanted to walk through them, are now very Gothic and at one point Bellatrix, the destructive witch, wrecks havoc in the Dining Hall.
Harry and Dumbledore go to visit Horace Slughorn, played by Jim Broadbent, a former professor of Hogwarts who now longer works there, but is needed desperately because he has a memory of Tom Riddle (Voldemort’s previous name before he became the dark wizard) that could help both Dumbledore and Harry in the quest to beat the Dark Lord. Dumbledore explains to Harry that there are seven Horcruxes, which are objects that Voldemort split his heart into. I will not go into detail about what they are because you have to see the film or read the books to know all seven of them.
Basically, this film tells two different stories. One is why I love the book so much. Dumbledore sees that Harry has a very difficult task ahead of him to defeat Voldemort. In order to defeat him, Dumbledore, who I believe also wants to be rid of Voldemort, is showing Harry the right way to beat Voldemort. That’s why this book becomes so great. Dumbledore and Harry grow close to one another than we had ever seen the both of them become, because they both know the great danger of killing Voldemort and what needs to be done. The other story is just your basic Harry Potter story that you will see in every single one of the books and movies. It involves the classes, romance, fights, Quidditch, and seeing your favorite teachers once again.
Some of the characters just turn up so we can see them only for a glimpse. Hagrid just appears so you can see him and he plays a lesser role in this one than in the last one. However, the one teacher that gets a lot of attention and back-story in here is Snape. Yates gave Rickman a lot of dialogue in this one and has chilling pauses. Michael Gambon plays the part of Dumbledore in this one really well. It’s still not going to be as warm and memorable as Richard Harris from the first two movies, but Gambon still pulls it off. He brings Dumbledore’s role in the book to life in the movie that you really want to see more. Broadbent as Slughorn is a total goofball, as you can see in this one, but you can tell that he is hiding a dark secret and doesn’t want to tell what it is. You know that he has to let it out eventually. Think about it like this: how many of you have a secret that you have never told anyone before? How much has it built up inside of you that eventually it came to a point that you had to tell someone? That’s what Broadbent pulled off very well in this movie. Radcliffe has a tough role to play in this sequel, since it’s not easy playing a hero with a huge supporting cast like this movie. Helen McCrory is in this movie playing Malfoy's mother, Narcissa, who is just so scary and over-the-top that she must be embodying the three witch sisters from Macbeth, like how Helena Bonham Carter is.
The climactic scene is the one in the underground cavern where Harry and Dumbledore go to. It has a lake and an ominous gondola as a way to get into the cavern, which had become popular since the days of “The Phantom of the Opera.”
I have to say that this film was really well made. Spoiler alert: Dumbledore dies in this one. However, they cut out the part where Hagrid carried Dumbledore to the Hospital Wing crying, and McGonagall came in and fell on the chair sad because of Dumbledore’s murder. Plus, the entire funeral was cut out of the movie. Still, it starts and ends very well, and the art design and cinematography in this one is more than in the previous adaptations. Like I had stated already, this film really got darker since Harry and Dumbledore work together and face on dangerous tasks to find all of the Horcruxes. Ebert comments, “The middle passages spin their wheels somewhat, hurrying about to establish events and places not absolutely essential. But those scenes may be especially valued by devoted students of the Potter saga. They may also be the only ones who fully understand them; ordinary viewers may be excused for feeling baffled some of the time.”
Only one book left to make into a film. How will that turn out? Well, I’ll tell you right now: they split it up into two parts. That’s right; tomorrow isn’t the last day folks. Just wait and see how the last movie will be, while we look at part 1 tomorrow in “Harry Potter-a-thon.”
I really loved this review also. Your points on the cinematogrophy and characterdevelopment, and I really liked how you compared it to the book. I also liked how you commented on the supporting cast. This one really is close to 4 in my opinion they kind of share a spot.
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