And this week's Friday night movie has been... Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince!
It is interesting to revisit this movies over a decade later. Because I can do it on my own terms and be as far removed from the hostility this series initially attracted as I wish. Of course, a disgusted fanbase grumbling about an adaptation is nothing new but as the years went on, this hatred eventually died down. So I have to ask: Do the Harry Potter fans still hate the movies? I suppose
a) the fact that the movies all came over the course of a decade wore the haters down
b) the Potter fans grew older and wiser
c) the realization from the fanbase that the movies were drawing in new interest
d) the knowledge that we should be grateful that these movies gave us Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe
e) the haters moved on. To Game of Thrones (probably).
Can anyone confirm this?
As for the movie itself, I will admit that this is perhaps the weakest entrant in the series so far. Sure it all looks nice and we get some interesting character moments but far too often Half Blood Prince comes across as meandering and slow paced - which seems to go against the grain of what came previously. I don't object to serials taking the occasional step back and address a more smaller-scale/personal story but not if they make two and a half hours a slog to get through.
HOWEVER! I am willing to forgive this tedium purely for the final half hour. Oh my goodness, is that a rollercoaster of a ride. Atmospheric, frightening, exciting and heart-wrenching, it is proof that when these movies score a hit, they can knock it out of the park.
Ultimately though, I can't shake the feeling that the slower pace of this entrant is a buffer for what's happening next which, as is my understanding, is going to get nasty.
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