I arrived at the theater for the midnight premiere adorned in my house colors, a lavish array of Hufflepuff's signature yellow and black. Pre-purchased ticket stub grasped firmly in hand, I took my place in line fully prepared for a thrill ride to rival that of the Hogwarts Express.
Moviegoers across the country raced to theaters with similarly high expectations. Tuesday night, the film set the record for the largest midnight gross of all time, raking in over $22 million. The hype was huge, but could the movie live up to this anticipation? To the surprise of many fans, it did.
Harry Potter movies have always been placed in a difficult position, since a majority of their target audience already knows the plot of each film and viewers are always on the watch for the slightest deviation from the books. Given that it is impossible to perfectly transpose the story chapter-by-chapter into a movie of reasonable length, the films are guaranteed to yield negative comments. Many of the previous films have faced criticism for leaving out significant portions of the novels, and "Half-Blood Prince" is no different.
Not only are certain scenes blatantly omitted from the text, but new scenes are added in. Rather than violate the sanctity of Harry Potter, however, these changes greatly improve the overall flow of the film. The previous Harry Potter movies have all struggled to establish themselves as stand-alone works of art, but "Half Blood Prince" does the most to make this transition as smooth as possible.
Even so, the narrative still feels fragmented at times, and there is a lurking sense that key details are missing.
On the off chance that someone has made it through his entire adolescence or career at Dartmouth without reading any of the Harry Potter books, these missing details and the lack of exposition will lead to a different, potentially more confusing experience. Without prior knowledge of the story, particular details of the movie will seem unclear specifically when secondary characters appear on screen without any introduction, which is, unfortunately, a common occurrence in the film. Luckily for new Potter fans, however, the movie offers more than just a developed case to entertain audiences.
First off, "Half-Blood Prince" is downright hysterical. The humor is genuine and the characters are sassy some scenes will have you laughing out loud. With Harry and his pals finally free of their pre-pubescent angst, the film is much more jovial. That's not to say the movie doesn't have its serious and dramatic moments, but the light-hearted scenes save the film from being weighed down by such an emotional story.
College-aged viewers will be pleased to discover that much of the humor is derived from two of our favorite things: alcohol and sex. Of course, this is not explicit in the film it does have a PG rating, mind you but the crowd in the Lebanon theater managed to pick up on suggestions of both. Watching Hermione drunkenly stumble around was purely delightful, and seeing Harry get high off of "liquid luck potion" was both entertaining and unexpected.
The romance, which is very cutesy and subtle, is another engaging part of the movie. Although the film obviously capitalizes on "raging hormones" to market the movie, it is refreshing to see Potter and his friends becoming more mature. The blossoming relationships seem to have been taken straight out of a '90s romantic comedy, but that's what makes it so fun to watch. The characters may be awkward and the interactions cheesy, but the growth of these relationships makes the characters seem genuine and establishes a welcome change of pace from the previous releases.
Even the acting, which has historically been regarded as a low point of the Harry Potter franchise, has seen a drastic improvement since the last episode. Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson turn in respectable performances, and Rupert Grint manages to pull off a fantastic show despite a recent bout of swine flu.
The only dreadful performance is given by Bonnie Wright (playing Ginny Weasley), who unfortunately has a large role in the movie. In the book, Ginny comes off as witty and charming, but Wright delivers a stale and disappointing performance. Even without a familiarity with the text, viewers will be shocked to see such a lifeless role in an otherwise vibrant movie.
"Half-Blood Prince" is by no means a flawless movie. The acting is good, but not great. The story is coherent, but not perfect. Overall, the film is a remarkably enjoyable and entertaining ride, but it still struggles to overcome all of the issues that plagued each of its predecessors. This movie is the best installment in the Harry Potter series to date, and I highly recommend a viewing for Potter fans and rookies alike. It'll never quite capture all the detail of the book, but I think that's a fault we can forgive.
