Yes, I am a fan of the HP books...one of the few things I would readily pledge my allegiance to. Perhaps that is the reason why HBP the movie failed me...miserably.
To turn a riveting, ingeniously plotted, magical saga with deep emotional and philosophical undertones into an equally fascinating movie is no mean task...but HP 6 on celluloid doesn't even try. Instead one is treated to awe inspiring visuals, replete with state of the art effects and dark picturesque landscapes which come together to tell a story that contains less than one half of the original plot and misses out on its deeper meanings altogether. It could have been Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince or Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley or Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy or even Death Eaters, Horcruxes, Teenage Romance and Slughorn....big difference.
For starters, the screenplay writers, for reasons best known to themselves decided to play havoc with the story. Certain key portions entirely omitted and absolutely inane bits of originality supplanted make this a travesty of a plot. Indeed, I pitied those of the audience who hadn't read the book- even the most discerning among them would fail to realize what was going on and why. For that matter those who had read the book were as likely to forget what the original story was like, thanks to the exasperating alterations that hit you even before you can say Merlin's Beard!!!
For those of us who know Rowling's version of the story, HBP is as much about Voldermort as about Harry. The most intriguing parts of the book are those that involve tracing Tom Riddle's journey to becoming the most menacing dark wizard of all time. In the movie however, much of these trips through the Pensieve are dispensed with- the result is a disconnected narrative where one is supposed to take most of what happens for granted.
Also, the book is about growing up in more senses than one- it traces the coming of age of Harry as well as Draco, and the inevitable choices that one must make once and for all. But while Draco's anguish, his desperation and weakness is fairly depicted in the better bits of the movie, the narrow, almost puerile depiction of Harry's sojourn to adulthood disappoints the avid fan. Giggly, blushing, tearful adolescence is all very well in a small measure...but here we have dollops of it in the most unlikely places, diluting the essentially dark portents of the book besides giving the impression that Harry is the average teenager periodically embarking, superhero like, on a save-the-world-from-Voldemort mission. It is the heroic in Harry and the reasons that go into making him so that endear fans to the HP series...somehow those reasons are never clear in the movie.
So lost were the makers in their own version of HBP that they forgot to include the battle at Hogwarts. Without this crucial climax, the build up provided by Draco's clandestine activities, several accidents befalling Hogwarts' students and the gradually growing unrest about death eaters and dementors on the loose, seems redundant. The end is almost tame...very unlike the book where the supreme tragedy of Dumbledore's death, Snape's flight amidst the raging battle bring in their aftermath an indication that things will never be the same for Harry again.
The only watchable bits are those involving Draco, because they manage to grip the audience with his sense of urgency, hopelessness and desperation which were so evident in the book. Also, the makers get the dark atmosphere of the book right...at least in the visuals. Montages are creative, technical elements (at least as far as I understand) brilliant, tempo, sound and pace good, actors competent...I only wish it was more of a story and less of a superhero-romcom gimmick.
So if you ask me, give this one a miss- go waste three hours on some more satisfying pursuit. Better still, spend it going back to or even discovering for the first time HBP the book...worth it.
