Editorial
Front Page - Friday, July 31, 2009
The Critic's Corner
David Laprad
First, a confession I doubt will send a shockwave through our readership: I like Harry Potter, but I’m not a fan. I haven’t read any of the books, I don’t get involved in discussions about author J.K. Rowling and I missed the fifth movie.
Being a muggle, however, has its benefits; namely, I don’t carry any baggage into the theater when I see a new Potter movie. Conversely, those who have read the novels almost look slumped over with the weight of their expectations. It’s like they have an 800-page book on their backs...
This means I was able to enjoy the new Potter movie, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” even having missed the last episode. Unlike my daughter, who’s always complaining about how much better the books are, I didn’t have any reason to worry about the filmmakers cutting my favorite scene from the novel or fussing about how they changed this or that. I just sat back and found pleasure in watching a beautifully shot movie set in an enchanting world.
Had I read the book, I probably would’ve joined the chorus of nitpickers, as it felt like the script was missing some important links.
As the movie opens, Harry, Hermione and Ron are returning to Hogwarts School of Magic for their sixth year. Evil is in the air, of course, as Lord Voldemort proceeds with plans to return to life and kill those who have the power to oppose him.
At least, that’s what I think was going on. The movie makes a fuss early on about Harry finding a textbook previously owned by someone called the Half-Blood Prince, which helps him make spells no one else in class can. Meanwhile, Dumbledore, the school’s headmaster, encourages Harry to get to know a new teacher, Horace Slughorn, whose memory contains information that can give the young wizard an edge against Voldemort. And Malfoy, Harry’s other nemesis, is up to no good, too. In fact, the “no good” he’s up to is far worse than anything else he’s done.
Unfortunately, screenwriter Steve Kloves and director David Yates seem to pick and choose plot points from the book like kids in a candy store, and as a result fail to provide the groundwork for much of what we’re seeing. Death Eaters are shown tormenting London, for example, but Kloves and Yates never make the reasons clear.
Later, Ginny Weasley tells Harry they need to hide the textbook, but she never says why. And near the end, when the Half-Blood Prince reveals himself by dramatically saying, “I am the Half-Blood Prince,”
I was surprised to learn anyone was looking for him. More to the point, Kloves and Yates never explain why that character is known by that designation. I would’ve happily sat through a longer movie if it had clarified these and other ambiguities.
Luckily, “Harry Potter 6” still entertains. Yates and his young cast have a good time exploring the dawning of adolescent love and draw a lot of humor from the tempest of emotions teenagers feel the first time they fall for someone.
As for Yates, his direction is self-assured and tight, giving me hope for the final two films in the series, which he’ll be helming, and making me want to go back and watch “The Order of the Phoenix,” which he also directed.
There isn’t much action in “Half-Blood Prince,” at least not the kind we’re used to seeing in the “Lord of the Rings” and “Chronicles of Narnia” films, but there are some wonderful visuals.
There’s a fun sequence early on when Dumbledore restores a demolished house with a wave of his wand and a rather awe-inspiring moment as Death Eaters destroy a walking bridge.
The sets are beautiful, too, packed as they are with intricate details. Even the back alleys of London and dilapidated chambers of Hogwarts have a beauty that’s delightful to behold.
The thing that captivated me the most about “Half-Blood Prince,” though, was the friendships of its three main characters. These relationships have survived over time from the first Potter story, when Harry, Hermione and Ron were young and naïve, through approaching adulthood, giving the movies an epic feel no grand battle could match.
A sense of decay and darkness permeates “Half-Blood Prince,” forcing the budding wizards to leave behind the whimsy of their earlier adventures (to say goodbye to earwax-flavored jellybeans and chocolate frogs) and face terrible things.
And yet as the friends stand side-by-side in a castle tower, watching a mystical bird soar toward a golden sunset, we sense that the safety and comfort of the bonds they’ve formed will carry them through.
Perhaps Harry Potter is more like real life, and real life is more magical, than I previously thought. Rating: See it.
E-mail David Laprad at dlaprad@hamiltoncountyherald.
com.
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