Movie Review : Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince

Let me say first that I'm so late watching this movie because almost all of my friends have watched it and I just got the ticket today (and the theater is still jam packed with people,almost sold out until the night). Going to this movie,I already heard some comments from my friends and people around the internet so maybe my review is slight bit influenced because of that.

I had read the book before I watched this movie and this time I finished it few weeks before the movie premiered and I still got time to watch previous Harry Potter movies and read again Harry Potter and The Order of Phoenix's book,in order for me to remember again some important details about everything.I tried to prevent myself from watching so many trailer because I didn't want to know so much about the movie before I saw it myself,but I thought this movie must've been fantastic after I saw some movie scenes from the trailer.The book isn't that thick and the duration of the film is longer than the 5th movie,I thought this movie might have all important scenes in it without major cut. Unfortunately,I'm wrong again.

The movie starts with a bang but forget to set up important foundation for the rest of the film. Harry isn't at the Dursley family like in the book,but he's in some cafe in the subway while at the same time Dumbledore arrives there (how the heck people don't notice his weird attire) and brings him to Slughorn's house to invite him to teach again at the Hogwarts. The film doesn't tell us why Prof.Slughorn finally decides to return again to Hogwarts (although they tell us that he's interested in teaching Harry). Very weird,since Slughorn tells Dumbledore before, that he won't be easily seduced to return to the school.

The rest of the film is very jarring and rush like before in some part,I know that the love story between some of the characters are very good (albeit very cheesy) but the rest of it like emotional connection between Dumbledore and Harry isn't there and Malfoy's plan is way too obvious early in the film. The lack of action in the end of the film doesn't help either. They add The Burrow's attack (useless in my opinion) and sacrifice the battle in the end (there's none). Thus making the movie end on a very bad note. I didn't have any emotion in the end,the director fails in conveying the close relationship between Harry and Dumbledore like in the book. To make things worse,my younger brother thinks Dumbledore is faking his death because it looks like that in the movie (the emotion is not there),where is the funeral,I don't feel the closeness that Harry has with Dumbledore. In the movie,Dumbledore is like just a very kind headmaster/mentor/teacher to Harry,definitely not like a father figure or guardian or a very loved ones.

The logic in some scenes from the film aren't there too. Why Hermione still insists that Malfoy isn't joining the Death Eaters after seeing him in the Borgin and Burkes with some Death Eaters? Why Mr Weasley doesn't take action knowing there are two Vanishing Cabinets? He should've known that because of that,the Hogwarts is penetrable. Why Tonks suddenly has relationship with Lupin without any explanation?

I'm wondering where's Prof.Trelawney (she has very important roles. Goddamnit!!) . Where are Dobby and Kreacher? Why the film doesn't discuss about OWL's grade that the characters got? Where's Marvolo Gaunt? Where's Morfin Gaunt? Where's Merope Gaunt? Why their story is missing from the movie,although it's so important. David Yates already disappointed me big times back to back with 5th and 6th movies,I still have hope that he'll make it up in the last two movies,I hope he'll slow down and not rush the scenes. Give a breathing space to the script so that the story is makes sense and not sporadically non sense. Put more time in relationship between the teachers and the students like in the earlier installments. And I expect super hella battle ahead. I don't find this movie boring but somber with bad finish in the end. I think I accept this movie's disaster very well,concerning I abhor the 5th movies so much but overall the movie is like sex without orgasm (everything is nice but not satisfying in the end) or eating so much food without drinking (again,not satisfying experience although it's good). I think I'm gonna read the 7th book soon and finger crossed for the last two films.

Links: Official Website
Wikipedia
Rotten Tomatoes
IMDB

Added: small rant,I'm tired of the nearest mall in here,Galaxy Mall. When I watched the movie,the sound was so bad,many times it's dwindling into small voice like what you get in small TV (not Surround Sound THX like theater),it's up and down all the way until the end. Sigh. I guess I have to go to the mall in downtown to watch upcoming movies.