Setting the Bar

So, after my husband decided to see this movie without me on Thursday (although I can’t complain too, too much because we had talked about it beforehand), I went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince tonight (not in Imax though). This movie was typical of the latter Harry Potter movies with a major character dying (the depiction of which still had me crying, even though I knew that it was coming) and the darkness of it.  What was somewhat different is that the adult Lord Voldemort (the name really has no scariness for me!!!) wasn’t seen once in the entire movie, although we have depictions of a young Tom Riddle making cameos at various points during his studenthood at Hogwarts . Professor Albus Dumbledore enlists Harry’s help once again in order to enable the good guys to get a leg up, even though it appears that they are losing badly in the fight against Voldemort and the Death Eaters . Dumbledore hopes that Harry can convince Professor Slughorn, who has come out of retirement and is teaching potions once again in Hogwarts, to give him an unadulterated memory of the dark magic that is key to the defeat of the Lord Voldemort. Also prevalent in this movie are the attractions that spring up between maturing teenagers - Harry deals with his growing affections for Ginny and Hermione and Ron deal with their feelings for each other.  Throw in Lavendar, a cute, hyperactive girl with a penchant for snogging Ron and there’s a lot of hormonality going on at Hogwarts this year.

The casting remains the most impressive. Of course, the key characters we all knew and loved because they were simply perfect.  Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe (who always was Harry to a t) and Rupert are wonderful. But Evanna Lynch is, also, the true personification of Luna Lovegood - disarmingly airy and yet, so brilliantly observant and understated.  She delivers her lines deadpan with perfect timing and inflection - exactly as you imagine Luna would were you really there with her. And Jessie Cave did a masterful job channeling Lavender Brown, in all of her hyperactive glory.  I look forward to seeing more of these newly found actresses in the future.

The movie itself remained somewhat true to the book, although there were bits at the end that were changed slightly - things were easier for the characters in the movie than in the book (that’s all I can really say without giving too much away) and, because things were easier, it made actions taken by characters earlier in the movie questionable. Specifically, it made Draco’s obsession with making sure that certain hidden items worked properly seem just over the top, obsessive (whereas in the book, it makes much more sense).

Keep an eye out for the next installments in the Harry Potter series - Part I of Deathly Hallows is due out in November of 2010, and Part II is due out in July of 2011.  I’m looking for babysitters now!

Trackback URI | Comments RSS