My Prince Has Come

Warning Spoilers ahead

I was able to attend the midnight show last night. If you have never attended a midnight showing for a movie, you need to. There is something almost magical (pun sorry) about seeing a movie for the first time the earliest moment possible. The people that show up are the die hard fans who come in costume and area ready for a party.

We got to the theatre around 5:30 and there was already a group ahead of us who arrived around 12:30. We took shifts at eating supper, and I played a lot of guitar hero in the lobby, but we were finally able to enter the theatre around 10:15. There were a lot of people milling around and two people attempted to duel up in front, but we were all waiting for the movie to start. The previews and commercials started around 11:50 and then the movie began.

I’ll discuss my feelings about seeing it the first time, and add on more each time I see it again.

I think my biggest criticism is that a lot of characters we love didn’t get a lot of facetime. We didn’t get to see the growth that Neville has made or the bond between Hagrid and Harry to set up the 7 Harry’s chatper in Deathly Hallows. I realize that this is where Harry really realizes that he has a mission he can’t ignore, its just sad that some characters had to suffer because of it on screen.

The one minute flashback to the end of Ootp was a great way to set the scene. I was a bit confused with the girl at the beginning, but I’m assuming it was to show that Harry was “desirable” as a guy and not just for who he is. I didn’t think that Dumbledore’s hand was dead/black enough, but bravo to Michael Gambon, this is the first Harry Potter movie where I think he “gets” who Dumbledore is…too bad he snuffs it in the end. He shows his caring side for Harry and you finally see the importance of their relationship with one another, apart from the Weasleys and Lupin, Dumbledore is all Harry has. I would have like to see the Dursleys. but I understand leaving them out.

As Harry goes to meet Scrimgeour…and has another “I love magic” moment, but he doesn’t say it. That’s one thing I LOVED about this movie, it was hilarious without being cheesy.

Spinners End…this was exactly as I expected it to be. Alan Rickman’s portrayl of Severus Snape has never ever been better. He at all moments is able to capture the emotions of I’m on both sides, I feel for Harry, and yet I have no emotion at all. Narcissa’s hair left a little to the imagination, but it was the perfect scene…wormtail included. You all know that I’m a Snape Lover through and through, but I cried a little for him in this movie. Mr. Rickman did him proud.

The stairs scene at the burrow with everyone wondering why Harry was there, great. I was happy to see the Harry/Ginny relationship. Bonnie Wright has more class than everyone else in the cast combined, she is fantastic. Their relationship progresses the way it should, with a few tweaks from the book. We also get to see Weasleys Wizard Weezes, I want to go there, I hope that they include one of them at the theme park in Orlando. We never get to see all the protection that surrounds Harry throughout this book, so when the Trio goes off roof climbing down Nocturn Alley, it seems a little weird, but no one seems to care. We also start to see what Draco is going through, the pain he is in and the fact that he has the weight of his world on his shoulders. Tom Felton was second best to Rickman.

Hogwarts, I’m glad that the Hogwarts Express was included, I think of all the scenes that could have been cut out, that one could have been, and wasn’t. Luna and her spectrospecks again were perfect. Luna doesn’t ask questions of Harry, she just elps him and his nose.

As the school year starts, Harry and Ron are standing on a ledge overseeing all the “firsties” being the upper classmen they are, until they head into Potions. Ron and Harry are hilarious as they fight over what book to take, but as we all know, Harry gets the Half Blood Prince’s Copy and begins to use it to his advantage.

Harry also starts his meetings with Dumbledore and going through Tom Riddle’s memory. We don’t learn anything of the gaunts, and the ring doesn’t look quite right, but the fact that Tom Riddle is evil comes across loud and clear.

Life returns to “normal” at Hogwarts as everyone goes through the motions. Katie is cursed, Ron takes Ramilda Vane’s love potion, Lav Lav shows up, Hermione is jealous, Slug Club, Draco’s emo status, Snape…god I love Snape, Quidditch, and the Prince’s book.

Then the worst scene of the entire movie comes, Christmas at the burrow. By this time Dean and Ginny have broken up, and Harry and Ginny are beginning to “get closer.” Bellatrix comes in, puts a fire ring around the burrow to draw Harry out, and Greyback is with her. Harry runs, Ginny runs after Harry, they are in some type of field/forest, when Lupin, Tonks, and Arthur go after to fight Bellatrix and Greyback just burn down the burrow. I cried and cried when this happened. Everyone was standing outside along with the twins, but this was the one place where Harry was always safe. They may have had to leave in Deathly Hallows when Voldemort took over the ministry, but nothing bad ever really happened to Harry while he was there. It was a symbol of his only true home, and they had to watch it burn. It wasn’t right, and should have never been written, and the fact that they could get through the barriers doesn’t again show how much protection is surrounding Harry.

Harry finds out he needs Slughorn’s memory and injests the entire bottle of felix felicis which made a lot of people in the audience gasp because we know they need this for the end fight scene with the death eaters, so we knew something was up at that point with the script. The funniest line/part of the whole movie comes at Aragog’s memorial service a few moments later when Hagrid says people don’t like spiders because of their eyes and Harry says something like, “and their pincers” and mimics spider pincers. As we walked out of the theatre people were doing that to one another while walking to their car.

Harry and Draco have their scene in the bathroom where Harry uses Sectum Sempra on Draco and Harry realizes he needs to get rid of the book in the room of requirement. Harry did not catch a glimpse of the diadem, but Harry and Ginny share their first kiss.

Harry gets the memory, they watch it, Dumbledore realizes just how bad it is, and tells Harry he has to go with him to the cave. Just before they leave Snape and Dumbledore fight, the pain in Snape’s voice is awful, but he agrees to Dumbledore’s wishes, Harry overhears them and then they head to the cave. This happens like it does in the book, but I was expecting more human forms in the inferi, and not the Gollumish creatures, but I suppose real humans would have been too scary. They make it back to Hogwarts, in the mean time Draco has let in 4 death eaters. Harry hides below the action in the tower, but he can still see and hear everything. Draco disarms Dumbledore, the death eaters come in, Snape stops Harry from disarming Draco (to save Harry’s life and to keep him hidden…see still saving him) and proceeds to Avada Kedavra Dumbledore. *cue the tears*

Harry chases after them, they set Hagrid’s hut on fire, Snape easily stops harry’s attempts at disarming him and tells him he is the half blood prince. Harry goes back to Dumbledore’s body and the entire school comes together with their wands to extinguish the dark mark. I loved Ginny comforting Harry. It ends with the Trio in conversation about everything and not going back to Hogwarts.

I will have more encompassing thoughts after I see it again tomorrow, but these are my first initial thoughts.