Since July 1st, I was all in a tizzy. It meant 15 more days before the release of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"...the movie. Not since I laid my hands upon the final tome have I waited for something so desperately, that a mere mention of it was like a shot of cocoa to my left aorta.
Well, last night, my tizziness was finally quelled.
And I didn't love it.
But that's not surprising really, since none of the movies have even remotely lived up to the books. And that has never stopped me from waiting breathlessly for the next installment to come out.
What left me all meh about HP-6 was that it didn't stick to much magic at all. It was more a saga about the out-of-control love hormones of a certain red-haired boy wizard. And the teenage trauma, angst and desperation of a certain Slytherin boy wizard. The life of the Chosen One was not really the center of attention here. So while testosterone and oestrogen are running amok at Hogwarts, in the background there's old Dumbly trying to collect memories in his quest to save the world.
Now while I was okay with the raging hormones, after all, there's something about the entire series that makes the corner of my heart that is perennially 17-years-old, go pitter-patter, I didn't think it needed to be so in-your-face. There was a lot more that we needed to see...definitely more than the snog fests. Such as more info about Horcruxes. And how about an explanation about the whole Half-Blood Prince reference, huh? And maybe including the first-ever meeting between the Muggle PM and the Minister for Magic? That would have been a hoot!
See, as a true and die-hardPotterhead, I knew the nuances and the back-stories and the un-shown events. But I went with three non-readers who came away more 'confunded' than ever!
I loved Emma Watson (Hermione) in the movie. Her pain as a teenage girl in love with a boy in lust with someone else came through loud and clear. It spoke to all the teenage girls who have ever sailed in that boat. Rupert Grint (Ron) was the undisputed comic relief. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), a bit too wooden for my liking. But the ones who stole the show were Jim Broadbent (Prof. Hoace Slughorn), Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (11-year-old Tom Riddle...also Ralph 'Voldemort' Fiennes' nephew!) and Frank Dillane (16-year-old Tom Riddle). These two Tom Riddles were positively scary!! Good-looking and menacingly scary! *shudders at the memory*
I am already waiting eagerly and excitedly for the final two installments of the movie. I am praying that my love for the Harry Potter series will one day be satiated by the start of an ENTIRE TV SERIES!! Drool! Smack! Slurp!!! Ooooo...dare I hope?!?!
And I know that I will see this particular movie again. How can I not?
I will just be shaking my head in pity that they didn't have a better script-writer.
6 comments:
Agreed. The clue was in the title of the book. They hardly gave 3 minutes footage to the Half Blood Prince theme.
But I still loved it. I go to the movies with a completely different set of expectations than I do when I'm reading the books.
@Broom: Exactly...it's why I keep going back to the movies again and again and AGAIN, because I can dissociate the book from the movie.
Saw it too... and was a bit like... Hmm, whatever was happening therE?
@JB: First of all, WELCOME BACK!! That's quite a scare you gave me and don't you ever do it again!!
Secondly, I agree, large doses of meh and WTF mixed with undying loyalty and love!
Which is why I have stayed away from ALL the Potter movies. I don't want them to ruin the way I imagined the books...
HP TV series..what an idea..i think they will wait for all the movies to get released before starting it on TV. Am waiting to watch the latest one..looking out for a baby sitter:)
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