The Blogtastic Blogfest That Is Getmeoutofthis.net!

So I just got back from seeing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

I guess I’m in the minority, but as much as I loved Harry Potter originally, J.K. Rowling’s writing quickly showed how weak it was as they let her write longer and longer novel and she attempted to build up a world she obviously hadn’t put all the much thought into. It’s a fun world, but it’s a world riddled with retcons and fairly ridiculous plots and dialog.
Book 5 was the beginning of the end for the series being any good, and that’s why, when I saw the movie version, I was shocked at how entertaining and just plain fun it was. Even having to deal with the “Harry is an angst-monster” plot, it was just a good time.

The movie of the fairly awful book 6 thankfully follows along with this tradition. It is obvious that the writer of this film was given plenty of leeway with the retarded events of the novel, and has turned the majority of the movie into a really great romance story between friends that is as hilarious as it is entertaining. The chemistry between Harry, Hermione, and Ron is just completely wonderful. They’re like actors or something. They give each other these wonderful looks and glances, and they have dialog that wouldn’t look out of place between a trio of friends. You would never expect Harry to respond to Hermione’s accusations that girls are only interested in him because he was “The Chosen One” with “I am the Chosen One.” It’s charming, and funny, and Hermione’s response is perfect as well. This kind of shit is all through the movie, and it’s why it is so far above what the book is.

In fact, the parts that pretty well follow the book exactly, to the best of my remembrance, are pretty well the worst parts of the film. The last bit of the film with them running after the horcrux is okay, with some nice effects, but it just isn’t as interesting as the chemistry of everyone living out their fun times at Hogwarts.

But yeah, the movie? Totally great. Totally. Worth your time. I only hope they give whoever free reign to write whatever they want. Maybe the 2 book 7 movies won’t be as god-awful as the book was, if that’s the case.