Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince...

[fajrdrako]

I went tonight to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

I am fairly indifferent to the Harry Potter books and movies. I like them enough to read them and watch them and enjoy them, but not enough to remember them a few days later, or to pay much attention to the fandom. I had forgotten, for one thing, that there was going to be another movie after this one.

Good, because I thought this movie was terrific.

Okay, being honest here, I still am not a big fan of the story itself. But the cinematography enthralled me. Gorgeous. Some of the scenes, the moods, the set pieces....

Draco Malfoy. I've always loved Draco in the movies, mostly because I like Tom Felton. Here he came into his own. He was for me the Prince d’Aquitaine à la Tour abolie, the perfect gothic hero, pale-haired and pale-skinned with dark clothes and dark conscience, suffering interior torments and a painful fate.

Tom Riddle, in contrast, seemed rather dull and bloodless. Not much ferocity there.

Professor Snape: wonderful as ever. No, actually more so. Loved every time he was on the screen, and his climactic moment was stunning.

My favourite characters in the movies are Snape, Draco, and Hermione. Hermione is a rather distant third in the books, but she's possibly the only character (besides Draco and Snape) that I can identify with. Emma Watson has such charm, and is so beautiful, that I am entirely won over.

Harry himself always seems rather too passive to me. Here, I liked his added maturity and the way he - in some scenes - actually seemed to engage with the action. Don't take this as wild enthusiasm about Harry; just that he impressed me a tad more than usual. (Since he usually doesn't impress me much at all.)

The real star of the movie was the visuals. I kept wanting to make posters of certain moments. I can hardly wait for some screencaps.

My least favourite character in both books and movies, is Ron Weasley. I find him insensitive and stupid. He was no better here, but I did thoroughly enjoy his Quidditch game - can you imagine? Me enjoying a Quidditch game?

Anyway, I always feel that Hermione got a rather tragic ending, in the books, attached to Ron. She deserved better.

Luna was rather cute. I love her quirky dialogue.

The Harry/Ginny romance didn't do much for me, though I like it in principle. Or perhaps it's that I want to like it, but can't rouse much enthusiasm.

Most of my reactions to the story echo my reactions to the book, except I was a little bored and impatient with the book, but not with the movie. I liked the same set of characters, and disliked the same set of characters. Usually I don't like Dumbledore, but in both the book and movie versions of Half-Blood Prince, I came to like him and to (mostly) forgive the misdeeds and characteristics that made me dislike him previously.

To my surprise, I'm actually really looking forward to the next movie.