The 8 Best Things About Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Great Movie! Probably the best of the five so far! If you’ve even heard the words “Harry Potter” this one is a must see.

1. By far this movie has the best directing of the five. David Yates did an awesome job reducing a very long, detailed book down to its essence and did a remarkable job of capturing the best parts of the key scenes. There was obvious some scenes that were noticeably absent but the movie is already 2 hours and 23 minutes.
2. Partially related to the above, this film did not overexplain everything that was going on (i.e. how quiddich is played, Fawkes flying off into the sunset). If you don’t understand Harry Potter by now, explaining it again isn’t going to help.
3. I was not really looking forward to Michael Gambon‘s performance in this film. He was by far the worst overactor in the bunch in the previous movies and the loss of Richard Harris is still noticeable. This movie is carried by a number of key scenes that usually require the great Albus Dumbledore. I don’t know whether it was once again the result of supurb directing or if Mr. Gambon received some much needed acting lessons but his performance in this show was not only not a major downside of the film, but he actually did a good job helping to portray the role of the great Headmaster in a meaningful, respectful way.
4. Luna Lovegood – Great character, well played by Evanna Lynch. Regrettably, her role was too small in the film.
5. Great special effects. Done very well but not overplayed. You never get the idea that the special effects are more important than the scene, but rather used appropriately to support the scene. I especially liked the flight of the death eaters, and the scene when the candles in the Great Hall are extinguished.
6. Alan Rickman Rocks! What a great performance. His non-answer to Harry’s question at the Christmas Slug Club party is priceless.
7. Every once in a while you get a character that was absolutely perfect for the actor. In this film, Jim Broadbent gives a truly remarkable performance of Professor Horace Slughorn. J.K. Rowling must have had him in mind when she wrote it. From his slight embarassments to his grand professiorial airs he makes this character come to life in a remarkable manner.
8. Amazing sets. From the giant scenes in the cave, Wonko’s and Slughorn’s class to the simple tiny alcoves, and the Burrow, these sets due justice to a series of books and movies that have become larger than life.

Of course, this movie wasn’t perfect. To read a few of its lessor points, visit my other post at The 6 Worst Things About Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

The 6 Worst Things About Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I was very fortunate to be able to watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince first thing this morning (the day before the worldwide release). I have been waiting for the sequal for quite some time and was not disappointed with the overall movie. However, like last sneak preview, this one also had its flaws (although I couldn’t really come up with the full complement of ten).

1. My biggest regret was the fact that due to great editing and limited time there were many terriffic scenes from the book that were omitted entirely.
2. Replacing Michael Gabon for worst overplayed role is Ron Ron’s sweetheart Lavendar Brown way OVERplayed by Jessie Cave.  You get the feeling that someone who wanted more told her that “you can’t posibly overplay your love for Ron”…unfortunately, they were wrong.
3. “Mumbling” Draco Malfoy, played by Tom Felton. While Tom does a decent job as an actor, his accent, combined with him talking much too quickly makes it so you can’t understand half of his lines. Fortunately, it was only a total of 4 sentences.
4. Not enough Nymphadora Tonks. Natalia Tena was only in one scend in the entire show, barely enough to get a speaking part and refresh her memebership in SAG.
5. The wait between movies was too long.
6. From the “what were they thinking” category, I can’t believe that they made poor Neville Longbottom a waiter. He goes from hero at the ministry to waiter at the Slug Club. Maybe Matthew Lewis needed to keep his SAG membership as well so they tossed him another line of dialog. Regardless, it was a poor decision for a character that was just beginning to shine.

Now on to the fun stuff. Read about “The 8 Best Things About Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince“.