Voracious fans of the book series are having discussions all over the Web regarding the storyline of the books versus the movies--it happens every time and will certainly happen with parts 1 & 2 of Deathly Hallows in 2010 and 2011.
Half-Blood Prince was different than I expected (not better and certainly not worse). On site reviews and preview videos showed me scenes not in the book so I knew something of what to expect. The movie left out parts of the master story line and yes, I walked out wondering how certain "necessary" parts of Deathly Hallows can be filmed if the essential back story was not.
Movie audiences are not always readers. My friend watching with me only knows Hogwarts and environs through the movies and has no desire to read the books. She was quite happy with the balance between the main story and the little sideline romances, and I agree. We were both pleasantly surprised that the darker tone was present but not overwhelming. Voldemort has returned and is causing havoc everywhere, yet the young people at Hogwarts still have time to fall in and out of "love" and there is much to laugh about. The comedic timing of Rupert Grint in so many scenes had me laughing far more than I had expected. Emma Watson also had moments that just floored you and showed a totally different side to the usually serious Hermione.
Not that there were not tears--there were many. I knew I would have sad moments throughout but I did not expect to feel sympathy for Tom Felton. Crying through the books was one thing--the tears were NOT shed for Draco. Watching the performance, I cried as much for Draco's plight as I did for Dumbledore.
Yes this post is long and was hard to write without spoilers, but please see the movie. We need morality tales today. We need to see the consequences of poor choices. We need accountability for our actions. Harry offers all this and more in a movie that entrances adults as well as older children and it does all this without fire and brimstone preachiness. Where else can you see honest affection and caring between young people today without seeing them jump into bed? Where else do we see that bad choices made in the past do not force a person into bad choices in the future?
I'm anxiously awaiting 2010 and Deathly Hallows #1...
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