I have to say I completely disliked this film. As a fan, it made me so displeased.
This was an event I had looked forward to with childlike glee. The sixth book in Rowling's series is my favorite, and I was let down when the release date was pushed back from November 2008 to July 2009, but I persevered. Technically yesterday, I decide to really take my fanboyishness to the next level: Not only would I attend the midnight showing, but I would dress up too. So my sister graciously draws the Dark Mark on my left arm, and uses makeup and colored hairspray to turn me into a Death Eater. I wore freaking eyeliner for Merlin's sake. I walked into the theater looking like a fresh Azkaban escapee, and after watching this movie…I feel like an idiot for it.
You see, the Harry Potter film series has been like being a child of a single mother who's constantly going from man to man. The first two movies under Chris Columbus were like living with the family man who just wants to please you with generous adherence to the plot and your favorite characters. But when this man gets hit by a bus, Mommy has to find you a new Daddy. She has a brief fling with a mysterious Latino man who seems to care more about strange camera angles and classy plot pacing than he ever will about you. Then the fourth guy really leaves no mark, and he's forgotten as soon as he came. Then Mommy meets a new guy, he seems to have a gift for making a fun movie AND capturing vital plot points, even if he isn't perfect at it. He makes life magical and fun again, but soon he stays too long, and shows an ugly side.
I liked Movie 6 so much at first. I thought the scene of the Death Eaters annihilating a muggle bridge was an excellent opener, showing how desperate and dark times had become. Then, we move to a scene of Harry flirting with a waitress, which I thought set up the romantic subplots of the book all too well. Then the plot gets moving. The movie hits all of the major points at first: recruiting Slughorn, trailing Malfoy in Diagon Alley, Harry's mishap on the train, etc. At the same time, the romantic foreshadowing seeds are sewn with Harry starting to suddenly notice Ginny once again. She has more lines in the first five minutes than she has had in the last three movies; you know she's important now!
Then I loved the movie. It was skimping on Harry's Lord Voldemort History lessons, but I didn't care because of the excellent way the love stories were being handled. Lavender is exactly the bubbly, dramatic teenage girl you'd imagine her as in the books, and makes a nice foil to the much more reserved Hermione, who is struggling to deal with her own feelings for 'Won-won'.
At this point I should clarify: I loved the 6th book's focus on teenage love drama. It was a reminder that in war, life still goes on. Things outside battle happen. There is a home front, and the world still turns there. I thought the book painted a great picture of teenage love, and its ups and downs.
The track got a little shaky when Harry and friends went to the Weasely's for Christmas…which had to be the most insane departure from the book in the entire movie. In the middle of some Christmas celebration, some Death Eaters come out of absolutely freaking nowhere, torch the house and corn field, chase Harry into the field, and set up a bonding moment for Harry and Ginny (Awww…). But at least Tonks makes an appearance, the movie even touches on herrelationship with Lupin, which I thought would totally have been shelved.
I was a bit discouraged by this, but the film went on, put itself back on track for a while. The relationships went back into the spotlight, Malfoy sniffled for the camera a little more, and Luna disappeared from the face of the movie…which saddened me.
Then the herbology fertilizer hit the fan when Harry used Sectumsempra on Malfoy. Instead of being sentenced to detention by Snape, he simply lets Potter walk free. Ginny then leads Harry to the Room of Requirement to dispose of the Half-Blood Prince's book…and snag a kiss. This is where the movie lost me. The whole magic (haha, lame pun) of their first kiss was ruined. I have to be an ultimate purist here, because I loved how it occurred in the book: in the heat of the moment, a celebratory moment turned into a romantic one by a split second impulse by Harry. Instead, we get a slow, steamy moment that did not satisfy me in the least.
This left a bad taste in my mouth, and stayed with me for the rest of the movie. The book's events were still followed from then on out; Harry and Dumbledore still fight zombies to get a cursed locket, Malfoy pusses out on his mission, Snape kills Dumbledore, and all of the Death Eaters escape. Very sad. I won't spoil the following scene, but I will say the substitute for Dumbledore's funeral is quite satisfying and moving.
I'll tell you what isn't satisfying though: My favorite literary couple being thrown under the bus. Ginny doesn't appear again for the rest of the movie after their first kiss, sans wordlessly comforting Harry after Dumbledore's death. All of that time the movie spent building up their relationship (more than in the book, actually, which was making me happy), just to completely forget about it in the end. That pissed me off beyond belief. Call me a fanboy, and I'll accept it here. Harry Potter and Ginny Weasely are my favorite book love couple, they're the kind of relationship I've always wanted to have, so deal with it.
And we the die-hard fans left the theater rather silently as the credits rolled. Not the usual chatter of any kind of movie. It was the silence of disappointment. The movie is receiving otherwise universal acclaim, a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes the last time I checked, but we the fans, we were disappointed.
