An Incredibly Late Review of Harry Potter

Harry Potter films have always been a struggle to watch. Being a massive fan of the books, I want the films to reflect my experience of them. This has never and will never happen. So in order to enjoy the movies I need to suppress this desire. I need to ignore my frame of reference. I think Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was for the first time able to accomplish this.


This does not mean that I have not enjoyed the previous Harry Potter movies. I think some of them are awesome, Prisoner of Azkaban being the obvious standout. But re-watching the other instalments made me realise something: the actual act of watching them is a lot of work.


This isn’t because the movies are overlong (they are, but whatever) or because the acting is bad (it is, but who gives a shit?). It’s because you can see the amount of effort that people have gone to just to fit the damn thing into a workable film. In the same way that watching someone vomit makes you want to be sick, or seeing someone get whacked in the nuts by his cricket bat-wielding toddler forces every man in the room to cover his crotch, Harry Potter films make us feel like we are on the job. With the exception of Azkaban, they all are chopped, changed, spun-around, molested and shoved into their running times with a desperation that is all too apparent.


Here is the word that perfectly describes why Half-Blood Prince is the best instalment to date: Effortlessness.


The reason that I was able to ignore my frame of reference and enjoy the film for what was is this: I never once noticed the work. The film had a flow to it that was so natural, so uncomplicated I was able to fully immerse myself in the story. I never found myself reeling at some plot-point or detail that was different from the book. It was only after it was over that I even realised a major climactic battle was completely removed, let alone some characters who play a huge part in the next instalment. And once I did realise I didn’t actually care. The film was better for having left them out. It would’ve been too much work to fit them in.


It was sad when it should have been sad, Light-hearted when it should have been light-hearted, and satisfying when the lights came up. I can wait with confidence that the final Potter will be made the right way, with less of an eye on keeping in all of the details from the book and more of one on crafting an enjoyable cinematic experience.


All Hail the Half-Blood Prince!