Harry Potter and the Half Blood follows on from the last film left off, as Harry Potter and friends once again travel to Hogwarts to face new challenges not just in education (and relationships) but against the ever growing power of Lord Voldemort in the Wizarding World. In the sixth film things have become much darker as the influence of Lord Voldemort grows stronger and stronger as he hatches an evil plan, things have become more complex as feelings between the major film characters begin to fully emerge, and Harry longs to discover the identity of the mysterious Half Blood Prince whoms guides Harry in his potions classes. Would Lord Voldemort prevail in his task or would Harry Potter and his chums once again save the day?
I myself was looking forward to the realease of the sixth Harry Potter film as the sixth book was one of my favourite of the whole serious, mainly as the characters start reaching adulthood and the love between Ron and Hermione, Harry and Ginny is one of the main plots running through the book (as well as the shocking death of ......... and the development in character of the culprit). I also believed that if the film was done right it had the potential to be the best film in the series yet and the best film of the year, due to the amazing script that could be adapted from the novel.
The film however did not meet my expectations and was not what I had hoped for at all. In my opinion the plot just seemed to stratch the surface of detail and accuracy that was present in the book, and seemed only to focus on the relationships between the characters with only parts of the story being squashed in at certain points of the film. The acting skills of Daniel Radcliffe were about as wooden as his wand, and Rupert Grint was only slighty better (although I believe both of them were not given a part that enabled them to show off more of their acting talents). Emma Watson, who in my opinion has always been the better actor out of the main three actors, however made up for the other two by giving another good and consistent performance.
One character's development who I believe really shone through was Draco Malfoy, as portrayed by Tom Felton, as the gradually decline in Malfoy's sanity was excellently protrayed by Tom and the film's script. The scene where Draco and Harry fight in the toilets was one of the best scenes in the film, as it was eye pleasing, contained good acting and was shot perfectly. (To read more about this scene in another blog I have written go to http://cheekylamby.blogspot.com/2009/09/analysis-of-scene-harry-vs-draco-with.html). It is a pity however that there weren't more scenes like this in the film, and I think this scene is proof that the most developed child actor in the Harry Potter films is Tom Felton by far.
The film seemed to just focus on the tumours and happiness of the growing relationships between the characters in the film, and the story of fighting Lord Voldemort was treated like a second less important storyline. I admit that I did want the film to have a heavy focus on the development between the characters, as it was perhaps my favourite plotline in the book, but on the other hand I think the film emphaised it too much, and as a result made it a film that was more targeted to teenagers than family viewers. The part of Lavendar, don't even get me started. The actress who portrayed her was good don't get me wrong, but she was more like some who had escaped out of a mental institution (or even Askaban for that matter) and freaked me out a little too much.
Humour in the sixth film seemed non-existent in comparison to the other films, and the joke where Harry says "But I am the chosen one!" had been played so often on TV and film trailers that by the time I saw it on screen it had lost its effect and only a few people in the cinema laughed at this point. The magical ability for Harry's Scar to magicially disappear and reappear during shots also perplexed me. There was also a big buildup before the film's release about the kissing scene between Ron and Hermione, which as far as I am aware never happened!
During the course of the film many hints were also given to the upcoming events of the seventh and final film, some of which I think were good to add and others I think should have been left out all together. The scene where Harry touches a Horcrux in Dumbledore's office effectively gives a hint to a major plotline in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows (which I will not reveal just in case some people still don't know how the story ends), and in my opinion was nesscary in the film.
I think the hints to Snape's true alliance (which is revealed in book seven) however were unesscary, because due to the book giving no hints to the readers the revelation of whose side Snape has been on since the beginning has a greater impact and shock factor on the reader. The final now will not have this impact. The film also hints to the future clash between Harry and Ron in terms of the relationships in the group, as references to the possibilty of Harry and Hermonine being more than just friends are made in the film (even by Dumbledore which was a bit weird), which plays an important part in the plot of Harry Potter seven.
To conclude Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince was nevertheless a good and enjoyable film to see in the cinema, despite a few flaws here and there and what felt like a half attempted film overall. The film however for me did not live up to its expectations and failed to dazzle me (which I had sincerely hoped it would), and in my opinion Harry Potter 6 was not the film of Summer 2009 (although it turns out it made the most money than any other film out this summer and in the entire year so far - interesting). Better luck next time for Harry Potter Seven guys.
Stay Happy, Cheeky Lamby
xxx
No comments:
Post a Comment