AFSCME 3357-HOF'S BLOG

Harry Potter and the Half-assed Ending?

As I good dad, I took my daughter and a friend to see an opening night showing of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Here's my half-assed movie review of what has to be the most elaborate half-assed movie ever made. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a good, enjoyable film if you read the book, at least until you pause to think about what the movie could have been and should have been. If you didn't read the book, don't bother going to the movie at all, because you won't understand it.

Director David Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves clearly challenged by the task of fitting the essential bits of J.K. Rowling's 652-page (US version) novel into a movie of reasonable length. The visuals are pretty as always, and the young stars have noticably improved their acting. Still, the teen romance seems forced and doesn't fit the flow of the film. Everything is so rushed that many of the returning supporting cast members have little to do and nothing to say. The ending is especially rushed and disjointed. In fact, the fan video below explains the ending about as well as the movie. It takes about a day after you've seen the movie for the lameness of the ending to really hit home. I'm not the only one that has experienced this. Despite initial euphoria over having a new Harry Potter film, two days after the premiere and the loyal faithful are starting to revolt. It's just a shade below the "nuking the fridge" fan meltdown over last year's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Overall, I'd say the movie is still a must-see for Potter fans, but this movie won't win any new converts. In fact, there are some signs that the HP faithful are starting to break ranks and trash the film. I'll give it 3 out of 5 stars, but only because I'm a generous guy.