Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling

#22 of 52 – 52 Books in 52 Weeks

Many spoilers within.

All right, I finished this ages (weeks) ago and have seen the film twice. Since the film just came out, I think it makes sense that I do a compare/contrast of sorts, of things in the movie that differed from the book, and things I liked/didn’t like.

I’m sure I’m bound to forget something, but if I leave out some huge plot point, feel free to point it out in the comments.

Things I didn’t like about the movie:

• Not enough Tom Riddle backstory. The book reveals so much of Tom Riddle, who he was before he became Voldemort, his family history, and the things that he did even as a child that were just…evil. The movie, on the other hand, has only a few pensieve memories of Tom’s past. I know there wasn’t enough time to include them all, but I really would have liked to see some history about Tom’s parents.
• Not enough Snape! oh, Snape. In the books, he’s always portrayed so differently–the ambiguity of “is he bad” or “is he really good” is always there for me. In the HBP movie, we get to see some comic relief with Snape at Slughorn’s party, which is nice. But I wish the movie had painted more of an air of mystery around Snape’s intentions. I felt like he wasn’t in the movie enough, and then boom, he kills Dumbledore. All right. Which leads me to…
• No explanation of what “Half-Blood Prince” even meant! It was a nice reveal and all, with Harry attempting to use Sectumsempra on Snape after Dumbledore is killed. It’s very dramatic when Snape walks up to Harry on the ground, and declares in that way that only Alan Rickman can, “I am the Half-Blood Prince.” And then he walks away. hmmm. Here’s one of those moments where, if you’ve not read the book, you still have no clue what the title of the movie even means. Kind of like how in Twilight, no one in the movie ever says the word “twilight,” though it’s in the book. Trust me, it’s not in the movie, I’ve seen it eleventy billion times. (And have I just tainted an HP review with Twilight? My apologies, I love them both.)
• No explanation that Fenrir Greyback is a werewolf. The second time I went to see the movie, I checked on the “Wanted” poster, but didn’t see any mention of the word “werewolf.” It’s rather important in the book, you know, especially when he bites Bill. But that’s not even in the movie.
• No Dumbledore’s funeral. I know it would have taken the film to a really, really depressing place, but for me, the funeral was a type of closure…at that point, I wasn’t sure if Dumbledore was really dead or not (I mean, not that he couldn’t be killed but I’m always skeptical when such an important character dies in a book).
• Awkward moments, like Harry and Ginny at the Burrow. She kneels down and ties his shoelace? Seriously? And the kiss in the Room of Requirement felt…I’m not sure…just awkward. I know young love is, at times, awkward, but that doesn’t mean I want to see this weird snogging scene instead of some awesome Tom Riddle backstory. Have I mentioned there should have been more Tom Riddle backstory?
• The final scene falls flat. I appreciate that Ron doesn’t mind Harry + Ginny = luv, but did that really need to be mentioned in the scene? The book is much more somber…Harry’s impending quest, and his need for Ron and Hermione’s help, and the uncertainty of the future, and horcruxes, etc. The film ending just doesn’t have as much emotional impact as I expected it would. Also, I thought Harry’s final line–about never noticing how beautiful “this place” was–was rather boring.

Things I liked about the movie:

• The actors’ performances. Daniel Radcliffe gets better with each movie, and Helena Bonham Carter is seriously perfect as Bellatrix. Even though I wish we’d seen more of him, Alan Rickman is great as always. And I really loved Jim Broadbent as Slughorn, he’s just wonderful in every film he’s in. Lastly, Tom Felton was very impressive in this one. I liked seeing tortured Draco–he was a more sympathetic character in the movie compared to the book, I think.
• The cinematography was gorgeous. It also seemed like there were more close-ups, which to me made each scene feel more intimate.
• This is small but really awesome–I was so happy that they kept Dumbledore’s “I do love knitting patterns” line! For obvious reasons, of course.
• The comedic scenes, like all the teenage stuff with Ron and Lavender (who was fantastic, btw) was a nice balance to all the darkness of the story.
• Harry + Felix Felicis. oh, man. So hilarious! Even though I feel like the scene with Aragog’s funeral could have been removed, it was worth it just to see more high Harry. I loved that whole sequence.
• Additional scenes with Luna. Even though they changed some parts from the book–like the early scene on the Hogwarts Express, with Luna finding Harry under the Invisibility Cloak instead of Tonks–were ok with me, since Luna is my favorite female HP character, hands down. Well, I like Hermione, of course, but Luna is just awesome. She’s so unique. Even though people thought she was weird in Order of the Phoenix, she always just acts like herself (completely normal to her!) and she’s got such a good heart.
• The scene with Harry, Dumbledore, and the Inferi in the cave. Dumbledore’s fire spell was so amazingly kickass. I think it’s possibly my favorite part of the movie, which makes me so glad I got the chance to see it on the big screen.
• I liked how much they played up Harry and Hermione’s friendship. It might have annoyed the Hermione/Ron shippers, but I think it was a good setup for Deathly Hallows (which, btw, I’ve already read).
• It didn’t bother me too much that they changed Dumbledore’s death scene. I realize that, in the book, Dumbledore immobilizes Harry under the Invisibility Cloak before the Death Eaters arrive and Snape kills him. He did this to protect Harry. But for the movie, it would have been awkward to see Harry standing there, a statue, while all the action takes place in front of him. I think, cinematically, it was more compelling to see Harry down below, and then to see Snape sneak up and “shh” him…that was more powerful for me.
• Also, I wasn’t completely confounded by the burning of the Burrow. I know it’s not in the book, but it didn’t bother me as much as it seemed to have bothered some fans. However, I am interested to see how they reconcile this rather large change in Deathly Hallows, since Bill and Fleur (who were completely absent from the movie) were supposed to get married at the Burrow.
• I also didn’t mind that the battle at the end of the book was removed. Since I’ve read Deathly Hallows, I am anticipating the huge, epic, kickass battle at the end of that movie, so I’m ok with it not being duplicated in HBP.

Overall, I loved the book and really enjoyed the movie, more so the second time since I knew what to expect. I felt like there could have been way more backstory and less teenage comedy; though those moments were funny, some key scenes from the book were left out (Tom Riddle, “HBP” explanation, etc.) that would have made some parts of the movie less confusing. But the things I like about the movie far outweigh any complaints that I have.