On Wednesday, 12am, I entered the theater drowsy and impatient. We were all off to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Let me begin by saying, I am not a Harry Potter fan. I never started any of the books and really had no interest. I remember encountering a girl in one of my classes who was a crazed Harry Potter/Daniel Radcliffe fan, and thinking to myself how ridiculous it was to be so obsessed with something so trivial. And yet, here I was, in the midst of an entire theater full of HP fans.
And then, there was a flash of hope. I thought for a split second that maybe I was completely mistaken about HP. Maybe there was reason to all of the HP-mania. Maybe, just maybe – I was about to embark on possibly the best movie ever made, something transformative that would change my life forever. Who knows? Maybe the movie, supposedly the best HP yet, was full of intricate plot twists, character development, and unbelievable special effects. As I settled into my seat, I thought I would give ole’ Harry Potter, the Half-Blood Prince (whoever he is?), and all the millions of trillions of HP fans the benefit of the doubt.
Boy was I wrong. The movie was confusing as heck. I had no idea what was going on. As a non-HP fan who has never read the books, I was completely lost. It was obvious that Director David Yates assumed everyone in the world was well-versed on all things Harry Potter. The movie left no time to explain anything to those unfamiliar with the characters and the preceding plot. I thought the characters were shallow. I’ve heard things about how this movie was supposed to be the best yet and how the characters, as they mature/grow up, etc, but all I saw was a simple, boring, and done-before love story punctuated by a few wizard fights.
Perhaps if I had been an avid Harry Potter fan to begin with way back when, I would have approached the movie differently. But, as of now. I could have spent the 153 minutes in bed peacefully sleeping.
http://screencrave.com/2009-07-14/harry-potter-movie-review/
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/2603030/Review-Harry-Potter-and-the-Half-Blood-Prince
http://www.1srg.org/Contributed-Materials/HowToAvoidGettingLost.htm