Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: a review

Anyone who has been in my company in the last week or two will know how excited I've been about the new Harry Potter film.
Bought my ticket over a month ago for a screening at the IMAX complete with the 'IMAX experience' ie 3D bits. And so today from work I dashed across Waterloo Bridge to join the crowds in high expectation.
But I'm sad to say it's the first one I've walked away from disappointed. Why?
*stop reading now if you don't like spoilers*
Well, it wasn't the fact that it wasn't a polished film. The acting was the best so far, the attention to detail on the sets ratcheted up even further and the special effects and especially the quidditch superb without being intrusive.
So what was it?

The Potter trio

Simply, they messed up the story. The love struck teenage stuff was very entertaining but it seemed at the expense of the Dumbledore/Harry/Voldemort/Draco storyline which is kind of the whole point.
And for once the film failed to produce a bang where the book normally produces a fizz, something that Warner Bros has been very good at in the past.
The dramatic tension in the Astronomy Tower showdown is played down - in the book Harry wants to fight back and Dumbledore is forced to stun him and cover him with his visibility cloak to protect him so he witnesses the whole thing but is powerless to stop it. In the film there is none of that.
The battle post Dumbledore's demise is a also a big part of what I remember about the book but apart from Bellatrix Lestrange smashing up the empty Great Hall a bit, it all seemed to be over very quickly and with little action. They didn't even deem it worthy of shooting in 3D which I think is telling. The IMAX experience instead is reserved for the opening scenes and I can't help feeling that, like my 3D specs, I was left dangling waiting for a bit more.
At this moment in time I'm not sure I'll go and see it again, as I usually do, but I probably will if only to see if I'm being a bit harsh.
The BBC has done a good round up of reviews at the bottom of its own review among them I think this one sums up my feelings the best and comes from a 15 year old reviewer in the Independent:

The Half-Blood Prince is frightening, funny, romantic and entertaining but as the end credits rolled, I still felt disappointed. I had waited all year to see my second-favourite Potter book brought to life. If I wasn't a die-hard fan, I'm sure I would have loved it. My gripe is that the film was simply too different from the book - the writers inserted pointless scenes and took out others crucial to the narrative.

Comments

[Emjay]

I have only read one Harry Potter book and have not seen any of the films.  It is always a bit disappointing when any film does not live up to the promise of a book.  What a shame that the IMAX experience was not all it could've been. 

[Crush-Monkey]

**hangs head in shame** I have not read one HP book, but I have seen the first two movies!  : )

Excellent review!  My twin brothers are going to see it this weekend.  If the sun is hiding maybe i will tag along.

[Rev Stan]

Thanks! If you've only read the first two books you may find it a bit confusing as it is a continuing story through the 7 books but then you might enjoy it more because you've got nothing to compare it to. 

[Rev Stan]

I love both the films and the books but try and see the films as a separate entity as much as possible to avoid disappointment and for that reason I haven't re-read the book recently so as not to compare. But certain scenes are imprinted on my mind. I'm re-reading it now just to see how much they did deviate and whether it is how I remember it.

[AKA Vasquez]

I've read the book and seen all the previous movies. I thought the new film was OK, although my memory of the book, which I think I read about four years ago, is sketchy - so I can't exactly remember exactly how it compares. I quite enjoyed the light comedy of the teenage romance stuff but I agree, the film felt unbalanced - I felt I wanted to know more about Malfoy/Snape and their motivations. I couldn't remember the bit about the stun and use if the invisibility cloak at the end but it would have made more sense if they had left that in - I couldn't figure out why Harry just sits there gawping when it's obvious Dumbledore is in danger. For the record, my favourite of the films is the third one - excellent pacing and direction and it also introduces Buckbeak, who is a genius creation.