Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince reviews are in!

[Hell Hath No Fury]

RottenTomatoes has them and it is looking very very good. :) Most of the critics are saying it is the best film since "POA" (thank god, after "OOTP" I was not happy). It seems everything is a bit more gritty, realistic, and gothic. Stays focused on two story tracks -- the various romances and the search for Voldie's history.

I am going to try to see it on Monday -- can't wait! After "OOTP" I was not a hamppy campber and very worried that Yates was a poor choice to finish off the series.

It appears I have (thankfully) been wrong.

[NewJeffCT]

1. I've only seen the first Harry Potter movie, and

only read the first 3 books. I will not have time to read books 4-7 any time soon - how much will I miss by watching movies 2-6 and not reading the books?

[XemaSab]

3. There was a major scene that was virtually left out of movie 5

Harry goes into Snape's memory, and in the memory Snape is back at school. He's being just tormented by Harry's dad and Sirius, and Lupin and Peter Pettigrew are there too. Then Harry's mom comes up and tells Harry's dad and Sirius to leave Snape alone, and Snape says "I don't need help from a filthy little mudblood like her!"

That's the only scene I can think of that was really chopped down for the movie that will come back and sting later.

We'll see what they cover and don't cover in the 6th film. :shrug:

[Hell Hath No Fury]

5. When I saw "OOPT" -

and that scene came up, I wanted to rip my hair out! :mad: What was revealed in those memories was a revelation to Potter AND to Snape, incredibly important for both characters. To throw it away the way Yates did just disgusted me. To address is properly would have added a whole 30 seconds to the movie -- whoop-de-do. :eyes:

[WolverineDG]

7. and that's a pivotal scene too

given what was revealed in the last book.



dg

[XemaSab]

11. I'm really wondering how they're going to make that flow in the 7th movie

:banghead:

[Hell Hath No Fury]

4. "Miss"? Well, that's hard to say...

You will not miss enough general information that you will not understand the new film, but you will be missing a whole lot of stuff that expanded the Potter Universe, the story, and the characters.

I agree the short shrifting Yates did in "OOTP" with the memory exchanges between Snape and Potter was criminal -- the revelation Potter received was shattering for him, yet Yates just glossed over it as a minor plot detail. Shit like that pisses me off.

My Mom has never read one of the books, yet manages to get everything she needs to know from the films alone. I think you will too.

But read the books sometime anyway. :)

[NewJeffCT]

9. I would likely rent/borrow movies 2-5

before going to see Half-Blood Prince.

[XemaSab]

12. You'd think the filmmakers would have asked Rowling

"What should we NOT leave out?," but apparently they didn't. x(

[Arugula Latte]

2. My daughter is soooo excited.

She's currently reading Book 6. I'm proud of her, she's only nine and she's read through those long books.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

6. Fantastic!

I think there are reading milestones in a young person's life -- for my generation it was getting through LOTR -- if you did that you could wear it as a badge. It's nice to see a new generation get their chance. Hope she enjoys the rest of the books and the new film! :hi:

[Arugula Latte]

10. Thanks!

I'm trying to convince her to read the "Little House on the Prairie" series like I did but she's not quite as enthralled by the prospect. :)

:hi:

[tigereye]

16. I love how this series encourages kids to read these huge books multiple

times!


It's great to see.

[graywarrior]

8. I cannot wait to see it!

[sinkingfeeling]

13. Saw it last night at 12:03 AM!.

[bigwillq]

15. And?

:shrug: How was it?

[sinkingfeeling]

17. It has a different quality to it. Beautifully filmed, flows well, but still doesn't follow the book

in many key areas. Very little to connect the 'Half-Blood Prince'. I really don't know why the ending was changed as it was. You get the sense that since HPB can't stand alone as a story, that it's all a build up to the grand finale. 'Harry' shows better acting skills.

[momto3]

14. Oooh! Thanks!

I can't wait to see it. We are going Friday night. My daughter and I love the books and have been a little disappointed with the movies. But, for the most part, it is a lot of fun.