Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince

The problems with books preceding movie adaptations of the novelizations, in my view are two-fold: firstly, readers have expectations of sorts of the movie and secondly the reader knows the conclusion way before the screening. If the movie lacks a good directorial touch, who in the mind of the readers something which is assumed most of time, then the movie can be a real disappointment. Not to mention that many readers and fans are forced to watch the movie for the sake of completing the ritual, notwithstanding the books may have presented a far better narrative for their consumption. To this extent, I think, this phenomenon befuddles us when it comes to the Harry Potter sequels!

The latest movie adaption, the Half-Blood Prince was dark and serious. The blokey British humour and the brighter side of Hogwarts was rarely seen in this sequel. Understandably, the Dark Lord has returned to destroy all and sundry. Only mere mention of him by his minions. There was hardly any screen time for Voldermort. Only mere flashbacks. This movie is a tale of one boy (the chosen one at that) taking on insurmountable odds with less of any respite in the dire circumstances. Must be a superkid of some sort. Having many friends and loved ones killed in the process seem not to deter this young wizard. I did enjoy the Dumbledore-Potter interplay akin to Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker. I'm a sucker for master and apprentice duality in movies.

I felt since the plot was already disclosed in the J.K Rowling's novel (although I never read it). the movie naturally didn't require any build-up. As if a plain giveaway, we all knew who the Half-Blood Prince is, almost at the beginning, even by an uninitiated person like me. Even from the outset, Severus Snape was a dubious character and shrouded in secrecy. He was a follower of the Dark Lord and it doesn't take long for one to figure out the most likely suspect. Yeah, he would betray Albus Dumbledore and kill him. (Gee! Like I never would have figured that out!)

The movie's pace was slow and steady. Mostly dark. Boring at times.

It'll be another 2-3 years before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows makes it on the movie screen, but I am waiting for the finale. I am just a sucker for final-battle-between-good-and-evil scenes! Apart from that, it would be only logical to watch the conclusion having followed the entire series of HP movies. Let's see if Harry manages to destroy Voldermort's Horcrux (like it would really surprise me when he does...see what I mean about books preceding movie adaptations?)