Jul 15 2009
Potter Already Breaks a Record?
Variety is reporting that Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince might have already set a record in the first three hours of its release. That would of course be the record for $$$ made from midnight showings, and the film is estimated to have grossed $20M last night, beating out The Dark Knight’s $18M and Revenge of the Sith’s $17. Order of the Phoenix snagged about $12M in midnight shows last time.
What’s so special about this installment of the series? Well, it is one of the better books, and the movie is getting better reviews than any of the previous films, but beating The Dark Knight? Really? It’s not like it’s the last movie in the series or anything.
I’m holding off to see it until tomorrow to avoid the absurd opening day crowds, but I assume some of your have already seen it. What’d you think? Best HP ever? Kick’s Twilight’s ass? **********’s death scene was one for the ages?
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It sucked, and I’m a 20 yo male HP fan (so take that for what it’s worth). It tries to appeal to a younger and mor notably female audience as it focuses on the love lives of the trio more than the actual plot line of harry vs voldemort. The action scenes, which are sparse, are rarely given context either leaving everyone wondering what exactly just happened. C-
@ David
That’s disappointing to hear, especially since I felt the movies were being more and more aimed toward adults.
The Daily News gave it 4 stars, but they did the same for Terminator: Salvation, so I didn’t put too much stock into that.
It’s great. The book wasn’t an action fest and neither is this. Yes the bulk of the story is romance, but also the quest for the lost memory. I was satisfied and enjoyed the movie. The Inferi scene is awesome!
I thought it was great
I enjoyed it.
It has its funny moments and the effects are very good.
It’s 2 hours teenage love plus some wizard mistery and then (just) 15 minutes of action.
That may seem strange but if they just copied the concept of the other 5 movies, then the series would get boring for me.
Spoilers follow…
I am with David, the action scenes were entirely lacking in context; they existed where they have never existed in the books, and what ones do exist in the book are missing from the film. Since when does the Burrow burn down after Bellarix and Fenrir attack Harry at Christmas time? Why did that need to be added to put more action in? There was a perfectly fine action scene at the end of the book between Death Eaters, Order members and students, which just VANISHED from the film all together.
I have never been a huge fan of the sixth book, my main complaint about it has always been that there was just too much romance and not enough of anything else; the movie takes it to a whole new level.
It’s not a bad film, truth be told, but it wouldn’t have hurt it to have stayed true to the book a bit more. I feel like I felt after seeing Prisoner of Azkaban; if you haven’t read the book, you will likely be lost.
On the one hand though, Luna still shine radiantly!
Well, it’s not like I’m not going to see this anyway.
I tried to watch this movie without any preconceived notions based on the events of the book (which I thought was one of the best of the series). The movie had to drop some plot elements from the book and add some non-canon events to make the story flow more naturally on screen, but I thought it still wound up as a well put-together action/romantic dramedy flick.
Sure, I was pissed that they dropped the huge battle that’s supposed to take place at the astronomy tower, but I did enjoy seeing all the ridiculous romantic tension between Ron/Hermione and Harry/Ginny play out on screen. It’s not a perfect adaptation of the book, but it holds its own as a standalone movie (especially given the other crap I could have seen).
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I agree with Thomas, except that I didn’t like Book 6 as much as the others. The lack of action and inexplicable focus on sudden romance is part and parcel for the sixth book. I actually think this is one of the best book-to-screen translations so far. Here’s my thinking:
We got what we needed to see in terms of budding romance, Harry’s obsession over Malfoy, and the latter’s breakdown. Snape’s first scene was critical, and I think they nailed it. Obviously, we saw the big ending. A few of the memory scenes were omitted, but in general the point was conveyed.
I think the biggest losses came from not seeing Rufus Scrimgoeur or Voldemort at all, and not enough explanation or exploration of the “Half Blood Prince” mystery. Also, I don’t think it set up the last movies enough: Harry should know a lot more details about the Plot Coupons he will be hunting. Word from the directors is that including the battle scene would have taken away from the last movie, in which there IS a huge shootout. I have mixed feelings on this, but I’ll go with it for now.
In general, I thought it was a solid film. I actually like that they put more of an effort into staying close to the book, as opposed to movie 5 which cut out so much material to make way for “new” scenes (like replacing the Creeveys with that stupid “Nigel” character). To someone like CNA, I ask: which is it? You complain about the source material being action-less, but then decry the added action scene in the middle and wish that the movie more closely followed the book. This confuses me.
As a big HP fan, I really enjoyed this movie.
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