A friend of mine sent me this link.

[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Half-Blood_Prince_(film)#Differences_from_the_book]Wikipedia - HBP (film)[/url]

Listed are the differences between the film and the book. Forgive me if it seems spoiler like.

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Much of the book's ending has been changed, with the climactic battle and Dumbledore's funeral being removed. Heyman commented that the end battle was removed to "(avoid) repetition" with the forthcoming adaptation of Deathly Hallows. The funeral was removed as it was believed it did not fit with the rest of the film. The collapse of a Muggle bridge mentioned briefly in the book serves as the film's opening sequence. Scenes of Diagon Alley being demolished by Death Eaters and an attack on the Burrow by Bellatrix Lestrange and werewolf Fenrir Greyback are added, as can be seen in the trailers. All but two of the memory scenes, including that of the Gaunts, have been cut. Only the flashbacks of Tom Riddle at the orphanage and Riddle asking Slughorn about Horcruxes, shown twice, remain. Yates said they made the decision to compress the memories, but still "got some really cool ones". Characters who are cut include the Dursleys, Kreacher, Dobby, Bill and Fleur, Rufus Scrimgeour, Cornelius Fudge and the Muggle Prime Minister. However, Quidditch, being excluded from the previous film, returns. Bellatrix Lestrange will also participate in the battle of the astronomy tower, whereas she did not in the book, as seen in a picture with the Carrows and Greyback, celebrating Dumbledore's death. In the book, on the Hogwarts Express, after he is paralysed and hidden under his Invisibility Cloak by Draco Malfoy, Harry is rescued by Nymphadora Tonks. In the film, Luna Lovegood saves him instead, using her Spectrespecs to find him

Ok, why is it bad to repeat wizards fighting to the death but ok to repeat Quidditch? Maybe if you didn't have the fight earlier in the film, when it never happened, you might have had room at the end when it did.
And "the funeral didn't fit"? No, surely not. It was only a symbol that Harry could no longer hide behind greater wizards. Not important at all... much like character development, plot, storyline, etc... All pales in comparison to product placement and CW worthy characters.
Although I do count the Slughorn memory as the most important. DD's trip to the orphanage is just not as important. The others that showed the horcruxes were more important than that. Even Voldy's visit to Hogwarts to drop off the last horcrux is more crucial.
Still no Dobby or Kreacher! They are going to completely cut Dobby's death from the last movie. And that was the moment that focused Harry on defeating Voldy through the horcruxes. Horrifying.

Hopefully, I haven't ruined the movie for anyone. The movie was ruined for me since HP3.

The Dobby and Kreacher part isn't a surprise to me. I'd heard it before. But I'd like to state again my disgust at this turn in the movie events.

Thank you.

Sini

Well, by now most of you will have probably seen the movie. I am going to have to wait to the weekend at best. But I am also disgusted and a little surprised. I would have liked to seen Bill and Fleur. They wind up in the next film, we've seen the pictures of Shell Cottage. Wouldn't it have made sense to have Bill in the movie and get bitten by Greyback. And I would have liked to have seen Kreacher. I suppose they could just have as exposition DD saying "Oh, by the way Harry, you own Grimauld Place now and Kreacher too," but it would have been better to have sort sort of "Will and Won't" in the movie. It always bothers me when people add things to a movie and then cut things because there is not enough time.

Well, I'm sure I'll have more to say after I've seen it but I guess I should avoid DA until I've seen it.

I intentionally avoided reading Phane00's comments but I'll come back tomorrow. My show is tomorrow at 11:40 a.m. Can't wait. All the reviews are good but, more than any other movie, if one has not read the books one will be incredibly lost!

ok I'm back. SPOILER WARNING

General thoughts - very mish-mashed here, sorry for the jumble.

Overall it was good. Not great, a little "meh" at times but OK.

I really enjoyed the comedy, particularly Rupert. I think he is my favourite in this film.

I liked the cave scene. Had a bit more of a "Planet Krypton" look than I had imagined but I did find it a powerful part of the movie and really got the sense during that the scene that there was a changing of the guard occurring.

I was quite OK with the way the death scene was handled. Instead of the cloak and frozen Harry thing, Harry is sent underneath the floor by Dumbledore and ordered to shut up and do nothing. What I loved about this was the way I felt when Snape shows up. He motions to Harry to do nothing and indicates he should be quiet and even though I knew what was coming, I totally felt that Harry should feel good that Snape had arrived because it felt like he was going to fix it.

Ginny - She's strong, independent etc etc.

Was NOT happy about the fight scene being cut after the death of AD. They all just walked off the grounds. There was no Snape "brainsnap" at the coward thing either. And the big reveal of Snape as the HBP was very anticlimactic. Can't believe I'm gonna say this but I think in this scene, book Snape was WAY better than Rickman Snape.

I didn't mind the memories that were cut and can understand why some of them were BUT it felt like there was an awful of exposition done by Dumbledore to explain what was going on.

I liked Broadbent as Slughorn but as a character he seemed less sure of himself and more doddery than I had imagined.

I think they foreshadowed some key parts of the next two reasonably well. Ginny touching on the usefulness of the Room of Requirement for finding/losing things and Harry spends some time contemplating Dumbledore's wand (no double entendre intended).

One thing that struck me and I hope this makes sense to others, but to me, this movie felt like it served the "movie equivalent" purpose of Order of the Phoenix.

By that I mean that to me, OotP (the book) felt like a breather before all the "real" action starts. Then we hit HBP and it builds to this amazing moment of "Oh my god - Snape fucking killed Dumbledore! Some serious shit is happening now!"

To me it feels like this movie is serving that same purpose. It's like Dumbledore's death is the catalyst for the "real action", and the rest of the movie was breathing space from the preceding action.

I dunno...

That's it for now. I'm still feeling a little ambivalent about the whole thing. I had high hopes for this one and I'm just not sure that they were met... *sigh*

Sigs
xx

I saw the movie at the midnight showing last night, and I *loved it*. (Spoilers, obviously...)

Ok, I was annoyed at some of the additions (mostly just the Burrow attack... what was the point?) and subtractions (I would have preferred ending with a brief glimpse of the funeral, but at least they put in Fawkes).

But I did like some of the other changes
- The Lily fish story... I thought that was a really nice addition (I am right that that was never in the books, right?)
- Showing the attack on the bridge, which was beautifully done (although Death Eaters still should not be flying without broomsticks, dammit!)
- Showing Draco trying to fix the Cabinet.

Mostly I just enjoyed watching this movie come to life. I thought it was beautiful... the acting was really good, and the comedy was fantastic. Rupert Grint has really outgrown his weird-face style of acting and is a great comedic actor now. The love-potion sequence was really great

Great to be able to read all your comments and as usual we have a mixed bag.
Some of my comments concur with what has been said, but I’m just going to post the original script as it was written before reading them.

Another unremarkable film from such remarkable books. I saw it at the IMAX in London and was therefore treated to 13minutes of 3D at the start. This was quite thrilling almost like a roller coaster ride, especially following the Death Eaters zooming through London. Which is just as well as it almost detracts from how disjointed it is. There seemed to be no visual links.

On the whole the film was again more soulless than Mr soul-bit himself. Like an expensively wrapped Christmas present with maggots inside; in fact I think Kreacher directed the film; at least that’s my new name for David Yates. Which ultimately is an insult to Kreacher.

Why have the fight at the Burrow and not at the castle? I appreciate how difficult it is to develop the story as it is in the books, but this film is almost totally devoid of intrigue; it’s a Vanishing cabinet, everyone knows right from the start, yet know one puts 1 and 1 together!

No other minister; no Crabb and Goyle in their best frocks, no Dobby or Kreacher [except directing], no Moaning Myrtle, no Trelawney, no Phlegm or Bill and Luna perceived Harry under his impenetrable Cloak????????? {Sorry Sini}.
As for the Phoenix song, it was crap. There is plenty of ethereal music that may have fit the bill.

At the end of the film some of the Muggles were clapping [as befits their name] but they were in the minority.

I presume [or rather hope] the funeral will start the next film, it bloody well better.

Marks out of 10 = 6. The only good thing is my 7 year old daughter will be able to watch it. I’ll let you know what she thinks.

I apologise to those who liked it, I didn’t loath it. It’s just, I went hoping for a Banquet given how promising the trailers were and ended up with a Buffet again.

90sman wrote:

It’s just, I went hoping for a Banquet given how promising the trailers were and ended up with a Buffet again.

That is where we differ, I think, 90sman. I went in with very low expectations, because I knew all the major changes that they made and I've been disappointed so many times before on these movies. Therefore, I was able to overlook the changes a bit and just enjoy it. And I ended up enjoying it more than I expected to.

The subtractions bothered me less than the additions. The Burrow attack... that was just dumb. But I can understand (even if I don't like it) that they had to cut Bill for time reasons. Unfortunately, it means that there will be no wedding in the next movie, and that Fenrir Greyback was completely superfluous in this movie. (No explanation at all of who he was! And he didn't do anything except look kinda creepy).

The vanishing cabinet plot line I agree wasn't handled so well. Harry sees the damn cabinet in the RoR and doesn't realized it's the same damn thing he saw in Borgin & Burkes? I don't buy it. Mr. Weasley's explanation of Vanishing Cabinets was strange too. Are they always pairs? Do you just vanish to nowhere, or to anywhere you like? It was very unclear, but it did seem to imply that they weren't normally paired, and therefore they plausibly couldn't have guessed that a portal would be opened. In the book it seems as though these cabinets were really unique and no one had any idea that there was more than just the broken one in Hogwarts.

Always a breath of fresh air to read all your comments!!

Hubby and I saw the movie earlier today. Agreement with all of you all around.

**Spoiler alert**
Yes to all of you who suggested that the attack on the Burrow - completely useless as a plot driver - should have been replaced by some exposition of the mini-war at the end of HBP. I felt that the movie as a show on character development was very good. As telling a story, not so good.

Back to the absence of the skirmish at Hogwarts. The movie downplays or downright eliminates the role of the OoTP. Why have Luna be the one that discovers stiff Harry (get your minds out of the gutters!!) under the cloak in the train? Wouldn't it have served better to have the book Tonks find him and show how the Order was also patrolling different areas? That would have pointed out more of the danger of the times than the attack on the Burrow.

In addition, again referring to the mini-battle after the death of DD, Harry is isolated from the DA and the OoTP. There is no Neville, Ginny, Luna, Ron, Hermione, etc. battling it out. No McGonogal or Flitwick. So how are we supposed to see them as the warriors they are becoming, and they BETTER NOT MESS WITH THE SCENE OF NEVILLE KILLING THE SNAKE AT THE END OF DH!!!!!!! So the last 20 minutes of the HBP movie feel very lonely in ways that don't mirror Harry's isolation in the book.

These are really my biggest peeves. Also, DD spends the entire movie musing about teenage love - reminiscing about GW? It was unnecessary and made the focus on teen love completely over the top!

And my last two biggest peeves, since there is no Scrimgauer there is no Harry (or the minister - I forget) saying "Dombledore's man through and through". I just really wanted that line. And, second, one of the coolest parts of the previews for me was was Alan Rickman saying the line "It's Over" presumably after DD is offed. CUT RIGHT OUT OF THE MOVIE!! For goodness sake! If you are going to include something cool in the previews, please have it in the movie.

STILL - I want to see it again. I have become a huge fan of the actors who I think do the best they can with what they are given (Tom Felton really got it in this movie!!) and would like to see the whole thing again. I may, however, leave the theater after Ron's hospital scene!!

And apologies for not getting characters' names spelled correctly.

I just got in from the movie and liked it much better that apparently most of you did.

Things I liked: I thought the opening scenes were very good in establishing a darker tone for the movie. Pairing the devastation in the Muggle world with the abandonment in Diagon Alley was excellent, as were the scenes at the twins shop. I thought the teen romance bits were handled well, without being too gooey or childish. I was glad to see Quidditch back. I really enjoyed Harry when he was on the "lucky" juice. I was very impressed with how much Tom Felton had grown as an actor - loved the clothing choices for the character and loved the way most of his scenes were filmed almost in black and white.

Things I hated: I don't get what they were trying to say with the whole running in the field and burning the burrow. Frankly, Harry should have been toast running around like that, unprotected. There was no plot reason to substitute Luna for Tonks on the train. Seems like at times Gambon looked to much like Gandolf, the cave too much like Kryton, and the inferni too much like Gollum. Originalty much?

The worst part was the end. I hated that Snape told Harry to shush - it robbed Snape of much of the ambiguity found in the last two books. I can understand that being mid battle might be confusing, but for the DE and Snape to just walk out - WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. The worst was stripping the scene between Harry and Snape on the lawn to a couple of lines. That scene at the least should have been left intact.

Overall I enjoyed it though. I liked it much better than the last.

Quote::

I hated that Snape told Harry to shush - it robbed Snape of much of the ambiguity found in the last two books

Interesting. I'm not sure I agree though. I thought the ambiguity was reinforced because he was such a calming presence at the "shush moment" but then he goes and kills Dumbledore... I felt the confusion.

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The worst was stripping the scene between Harry and Snape on the lawn to a couple of lines. That scene at the least should have been left intact.

Completely agree.

One thing that's been niggling at me since last night is the way the whole HBP thing was handled. I mean the freaking story is about the HALF BLOOD PRINCE, shouldn't we have had more information about him than just:

Harry: Hey, this Half Blood Prince guy is shit hot at potions.
Ginny: Ooh, put the book away cause that sectum thingy was pretty harsh
Snape: Those are my spells!

Where was the backstory, the crappy father and the exposition about Prince versus Snape?

So disappointing.

Sigs
xx

Love your summary of how HBP was handled, Sigs. This morning my husband said to me, "the more I think about it, the more disapponted I am in the movie." I thought to myself "CRUD, that's what I was thinking too..." Sigh.

I guess I should write something I liked. I liked the first scene of Harry in the diner at the train station flirting with the idea of flirting. It was very real. In fact, I really enjoyed Radcliffe's, Grint's, and Felton's acting throughout. Wright and Watson not so much. I liked the soap operaish camera span when Lavender and Ron go up one of the towers and you can see them kissing through the window, span to another tower where Malfoy is broodingly suffering, and also the composition of Malfoy waking up and getting out of bed to do "the deed," to Snape looking out a balcony, to Malfoy walking out of Slytherin with students in the foreground laughing and making out carelessly - cinematographically beautiful.

I did want to congratulate Inanimate Carbon Rod for having been consulted in one of the scenes in the Borrow before the attack. A staircase encounter between Harry and Ginny looked a lot like your writing on The Tempted!!!! You should sue!

It has been a while, but I just wanted to find some book fans who may have suffered the same disappointment as I did after the viewing. There seems to be a handful here!

*Possible Spoilers*

Went to watch the film with someone who has kept up with the films but dropped out of the books at number three. I spent a third of the time explaining little things. This was enough to knock a star off the rating.

Mainly for the same reasons as mentioned by others I had a less than compelling review to tell my sibling earlier.
Cons for me included the loss of Bill and the fight at DD's death, the character appears in the last film, so why not use Fleur's unbridled love for him? Would've fit the theme of love that they were emphasising over Voldemort's apparent immortality better than the slight nod to any of the others. Saying this, I did have the cringe factor over Lavender Brown, which means the part was played well.

Field and Burrow scene was unnecessary and led nowhere, so why add it? Maybe to keep in with the anti-climaxes of Snape's revealed identity and Dumbledore's death all the way down to the image of Draco after Sectumsempra (understand it is probably due to the certificate) and the bird attack. That truly could've been done better.

Agree about Tonks, the whole Luna finding Harry and removing the cloak shatters the image of it being so magnificent in its defences for the next film.

For me the storyline was too fragmented and just too slow. (Checked my watch just an hour in, hardly a good sign). The film's pros are mostly formulated around the acting; Grint had comedy nailed. Felton, Broadbent and young Tom Riddle were absolutely brilliant. For once, I even didn't mind the portrayal of Hermione much, but Ginny was slightly insipid.

I'll give it a six out of ten, with hope that the action that is lost in this film is packed to the hilt in the splitting of 7.

Wow, it's been a while for me too. But I have to say, my overall feelings about the movie aren't HALF as bad as a lot of folks' here.

I basically have started going into HP films thinking: this is their interpretation of HP for film. Not "this is HBP," etc. That way I don't look for scenes. God knows Rowling's written some masterful scenes that have just never made it into film, and it hurts too much to hope for one or another.

THAT SAID, what a sorry decision they made to shoot the climax as they did. As has been said before, Snape was supposed to emotionally snap. Juxtaposed to his anguished confrontation with Harry was the howling of Fang, trapped in a fiery hut while battle raged around him. What power, what visceral horror and abandonment in that scene. But not in the movie. I love Rickman--a post search should prove that conclusively--and I love how he does Snape throughout...but here his direction was not maximized for character success. Neither Harry nor Snape are given the power, grief, rage and loss to feel and wield and break under as they are in the book.

That aside, BRILLIANT movie, in my opinion.

Tom Felton proves he can act. Radcliffe too, so long as he's not asked to cry. Grint's improved remarkably. Adorable cast of youth, absolutely brilliant and believable. The place FEELS like high school. The hot older kids involved in their own lives, their own dramas---er, some of which include killing folks--and the younger ones, innocent of everything around them.

The scene with Draco looking back at the wrecked Great Hall was powerful. Yes, as has been said, there's an entire battle missing here, but still, that shot, looking at his eyes as he sees the end of an era, the damage he's done..to his own life. Amazing.

Bummer that the couldn't add ten seconds to have him say to DD that he needed to kill him to save HIS FATHER (and not just his own ass.) But still, forgiving that. Draco can act. Finally, I feel him as a real person.

All the adults rocked in their roles. All the kids were light years more genuine.

I loved it. What can I say.

One missing climax. But other than that.... :)

~ R
_________________________
Notes of a Scribbler

Rumours wrote:

The scene with Draco looking back at the wrecked Great Hall was powerful. Yes, as has been said, there's an entire battle missing here, but still, that shot, looking at his eyes as he sees the end of an era, the damage he's done..to his own life. Amazing. Notes of a Scribbler

Hi Rumours, and thanks for noting this [Goes and asks husband about Draco looking back at the Great Hall]. I really hadn't. And, look, even though I'm fairly disappointed, I'm going again next week, first chance I get. I love "seeing" the story - even if it is so very different from the book. And I have to say that the music has been "magical" throughout the series. I love hearing it.

So, I am hooked, and the disappointment is part of the addiction!!