SPOILERZ AHEAD!
If you haven’t read HP6/7 or seen HP6, don’t read this post!
Ok, I promise I’m not a book snob. I love books and I love movies. More importantly, I understand the difference. I get why movies can’t be 100% loyal to the books they’re based on. I understand minor changes, sequence rearranging, additions and deletions. I am perfectly capable of enjoying a book and its movie separately. However, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince had some really huge concept-altering problems.
Plot Problems
- The diadem: In Hallows Harry is only able to locate the lost diadem of Ravenclaw because he realizes he’s seen it before – when he hid his potions book in the Room of Requirement. In the HP6 movie, Ginny hides Harry’s potion book, insisting he not see where she puts it. So how in the hell is Harry going to locate the diadem in the last movie? I suppose Ginny could lead him to it but that means she’d have to know he was looking for it and that violates the whole “Harry Ron and Hermione working on a secret mission” thing. And if they were gonna bring Ginny into the secret in the final movie, they could have at least SHOWN her seeing the diadem.
- The ring: Marvolo Gaunt’s ring is supposed to have the Resurrection Stone on it. The ring shown in the HP6 movie is just a chunk of metal. No stone. No Hallows symbol. WTF?
Detail Problems
- THEY BURNED DOWN THE BURROW! Was that really necessary??
- They showed Tonks with her plain brown hair, and she calls Lupin “sweetheart” once, but they left out the whole angsty relationship stuff. I didn’t honestly expect that to make it into the movie but it should have been all or nothing.
- Still no Bill Weasley! Six HP movies and we still haven’t met Bill or Charlie Weasley. Will they even bother with Bill and Fleur’s wedding in the next movie? If not, how are Harry Ron and Hermione gonna know to ask Xenophilius about the Hallows symbol? I already know they’re going to do the Shell Cottage scene because I saw the conceptual art for it somewhere, so I guess we’ll eventually get to meet poor Bill…
- Ok, Draco spends all school year fixing that Vanishing Cabinet. He cries, he mopes, he’s a big loser, but he succeeds…to what purpose? They didn’t do the big school fight scene in the movie, so the Death Eaters did nothing more than break some windows and burn Hagrid’s hut (what’s with the random burnings??). If Draco was supposed to kill Dumbledore, and Snape was his back-up plan, why was bringing the Death Eaters in even necessary? Unless they felt Snape and Draco would need an escort out, but really – such a waste of time.
Book Snob Problems
Ok I know I said I’m not a book snob (and I’m not!) but while I’m complaining I might as well add some stuff in:
- Some of those memories Dumbledore collected about Tom Riddle were really freaking important for Hallows. Especially the one where he sees Hufflepuff’s cup. Establishing the horcruxes is pretty much the whole purpose of HP6.
- The opening of the movie…Harry flirting with a waitress in an underground cafe? Dumbledore showing up unexpectedly? For that matter, Dumbledore dumping Harry at the Burrow without explaining anything…and not telling Harry they’d be taking private lessons? Oh well I guess he didn’t need to tell Harry that since they only showed 3 damned memories.
- Poor Snape…he finally gets to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts after 16 years, and they don’t even show a single class.
I don’t know if I’m looking forward to the last 2 movies or dreading them. So much in the story is still unestablished! I mean you could easily follow the first 5 movies without having read the books, but HP6 is like a visual aid to the book…you’ll get some information but without the book you’re gonna be lost at the end. For the first time, I’m truly disappointed with a movie made from a book.