The weakness of the film for me is, like Kevin, the treatment of the ending. Although I don’t think the film needed a battle scene at the end (the visually arresting trip to the cave and the shock of the death provide enough to finish strong), I was disappointed that Neville didn’t get to attempt revenge on Bellatrix for ruining his parents’ (and his) lives. Luna didn’t get to show that her pure goodness leads her so easily into the fight. Both Neville and Luna in the books know that the invasion is happening because they are the only ones left from Dumbledore’s Army who are still watching the enchanted coins – the method of communication used on book 5. That combination of profound loneliness and simple goodness and latent bravery moved me when I read HP6. I would have loved to see that in the movie.

But let me disagree somewhat on whether Harry needed to be paralyzed by Dumbledore at the end. In the book, it is only that spell, cast by Dumbledore to protect Harry rather than to make any move to protect himself, that is Dumbledore’s last kindess to Harry, and his life ends with a piece of sacrificial love. It is also how we know Dumbledore is really dead: when he dies, the spell on Harry is lifted. And you are right, Kevin, that Harry needs the spell in the book. But this is where the book and the film differ, and I’m happy for the difference.

In the books of “The Order of the Pheonix” and “The Half-Blood Prince,” Harry is a conflicted ball of hormones and stupid decisions. He flares with anger, which he recognizes, and dozens of other emotions which he doesn’t recognize. He’s emotionally stunted, trying to negotiate a world of relationships that he is not ready for, just as he must perform in his other challenges in life while not yet ready. And the film version of HP5 played up this aspect. Harry is explosive, mercurial, and out of control. We see that development. But in the film of “The Half-Blood Prince,” that Harry has largely matured, as we see in the wonderful opening scenes. First, Harry is pictured bloodied and assaulted by photographers, having endured the terrors at the Ministry of Magic at the end of Book 5. Then, we seem he capably but inexpertly flirting with an attractive waitress in the London Underground. From here on out, the film makes a notable departure from the books: Harry, Ron, and Hermione are much more emotionally and relationally mature in the film than in the book. Harry comforts Hermione as a friend, but with little of the awkwardness that comes in the book. These are friends who have lived through so much together that, while they can’t address their romantic feelings towards one another directly, they do now how to embrace and comfort each other as friends. The theme of the film is love of something you can’t have, and the film pushes this point by allowing its characters greater maturity. It makes the film less angst-ridden, but even more enjoyable. This more mature Harry can also serve as Dumbledore’s spy. He can look at the first-years with laughter in the hallways, realizing how far he is come. He can appreciate the beauty of Hogwarts for the first time. And it is the more mature Harry of the film that can trust Dumbledore’s order to stay quiet and hidden. That is why the scene works in the film. The filmic Harry is a more mature Harry than the written one. It’s a notable break, but a welcome one. And it’s why I thought that this one very important difference still worked.

So I regret the loss of the D.A.’s second attempt to confront the Death Eaters (first being in the Ministry of Magic at the end of HP5) before the final show-down of book six. But I really appreciated the film’s move toward a Harry and Hermione (not so much Ron) that can negotiate a more complex emotional and relational world.

One thing I was really hoping to see was Snape doing a DADA class since it was THE class he’d wanted to teach for years but was always refused.

I listened to the book last summer, but forgot about most of it when I saw the movie the other night, so your review brought a lot of stuff back that made me rethink the movie.

I really enjoyed the movie, enjoyed the humor and the growing pains of being an older teenager. That was well done. When the movie ended, my main complaint was that the movie jumped from scene to scene too much, not a good flow to it, and that an extra 30 min would have made it perfect.

And know I know why. The battle was gone. Had that been in, and also the petrified Harry, it would have been much better.

But not remembering the book all that well, I still enjoyed the movie on it’s own.

Also, I’m starting to wish I would just watch the movie first, and then read the book. Movies never live up to the book, so makes more sense to end on a high point :)

I hadn’t considered the anti-climax to be a betrayal of Harry’s character, though in the light in which you presented it, I can definitely see that. I took it more as a demonstration of Harry’s renewed commitment to Dumbledore as well as of his newly blossoming maturity — a sign of things to come, where he realizes it’s up to him to bring down Voldemort, even though it means leaving Hogwarts and taking an uncertain journey into danger.

I tried to look at the movie from two standpoints: That of someone who’s read the books and of someone who hasn’t. On its own, the movie was good, albeit a tad shallow on action, but overall probably one of the better *movies* from the series. As an adaptation, it all but failed utterly, and I sure hope they’ve left enough pieces of the originals to put them back together into a cohesive whole for the seventh two-fer.

I guess we’ll see…