It's 3:25 AM (at time of writing) & I just got back about from the midnight premier of Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince. Before I go to bed, I thought I'd write a review of the movie while it's still fairly fresh in my mind... although the weather going to the movie was fairly fitting with stormy weather just to the east of me (as major storm cells went through about 3-4 hours prior).
Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince is a 2:40 movie that follows the book, but the screenwriters took a little too much creative license in my opinion as it glazed over a few important aspects in the book & they added a non-existant battle in the middle, which doesn't fit the book AT ALL & really damages the potential integrity of the next two (YES, TWO! They decided to split Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows into two parts) movies. The biggest glazing over was the ending, which should have been a bit more darker than what was portrayed (as the big battle scene should have existed here) HOWEVER, the core storyline is still there.
For the look of Hogwarts, where the majority of the film takes place, the director went a bit more traditional with the look... but it mixes all the major aspects from the previous films to make it seem more familiar. The Burrow, while somewhat familiar... just seems a bit out of place in respect for is location & how they handled it in film during the screenwriter's fit of creative license SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED AT ALL as it's totally out of place! If you've read all the books, you would totally understand why I'm griping about this!
As for casting, the person they got for the roll of Professor Horace Slughorn was a bit unusual IMO. While the casting director took a bit of creative license (in order to maintain the series' rule that the entire cast MUST be from England, mostly for autheticity reasons), their choice was a bit odd IMO. While I failed to get the name of the actor (as the majority of the theater patrons were likely scrambling to get home as it was 2:40 AM when I got out of the theater), the look of Professor Slughorn reminds me of Syvester McCoy... who was the 7th Doctor in the "Doctor Who" series (the CLASSIC Series in the late 1980's, mind you... the predicessor of the current series, which should be starting it's 5th season in 2010 with the 11th Doctor).
While the storyline isn't the greatest (as those who haven't read the book might find it hard to follow) & the fits of creative license with the screenwriters, Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince will likely be a summertime blockbuster regardless what I say. However, I strongly suggest that you put in an effort to read the books to appreciate the movie. Otherwise, all I can say it that Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince is PASSABLE on average... It'll please those who just watch the movies, but the fans would likely demand more from the screenwriters than what they presented.
