It has been 2 years ever since Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie was released. I have watched the 5 DVDs over and over again and couldn't wait for Half blood Prince movie to be released. It was a disappointment that the release was postponed for nearly 7 months. When it was officially announced that the release date is July 16th, I decided that I should watch it on the very first day before tonnes of reviews pop up everywhere on the Internet. Having searched through the ticket booking sites a week ahead, the tickets were opened for sale only 3 days earlier in PVR Cinemas. I was eagerly awaiting the evening and was pretty excited to watch HP6 on the first day. At the end of the movie, I wondered if this hype was all really worth it.
First the positives of this movie. A fantastic opening where the Muggles were being attacked by death eaters. The collapsing of the bridge was shot really well. The actor who portrayed the role of Horace Slughorn was perfectly fitting and his introduction was awesome. After the initial excitement, there was a lull until the intermission. The movie was pretty slow, with more importance given to teen romance. The focus on Half Blood Prince was completely lost. Where is the memory of Voldemort's past and his parents? It was disappointing that these were completely eliminated from the movie. To top it all, the climax when Dumbledore was being killed by Snape is next to nothing. When I read the book, I didn't expect this climax and so it made an enormous impact that I ended up in tears the evening I finished reading the book. I'm not expecting the movie would repeat invoking such emotions but it should have created atleast some impact. Harry and Dumbledore's journey to the lake in search of Horcruxes and the following Inferi attack could have been picturized well. Those scenes had the potential of bringing Rowling's words onto visual images in such an appealing fashion but the director failed there.
I agree that the sixth book is really a bridge connecting Voldemort's return and the final battle between Harry and Voldemort. So the action scenes were really less compared to other books. But the few opportunities could have been picturized well. I hope atleast the remaining 2 movies would be good. I still stick to my earlier comment that the first three movies were the best and the remaining three have been a disappointment.