Movie Review: Disappointed with Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince

SPOILER ALERT!!!

Our 18 year old son watched Harry Potter 6 with his friends, ahead of us. He warned us that he didn't like it but, of course, our daughters wouldn't take his word for it. Especially when he smirked that it was mostly about teenybopper romance. That made them expect some romantic thrills.

Even that was a disappointment, though. It seems like the director wasn't sure about how to handle that teen romance angle. Maybe he did not want it to be too mushy. But, hey, you can't go about these things half-heartedly. If teen girls are your audience, you have to at least make them sigh over your supposedly romantic scenes. In Harry Potter 6, those scenes lacked the magic touch, ironically. They all fell flat.

Teen mush - or the lack of it - aside, I found the entire film far inferior to all the other Harry Potter films. This is where Snape kills Dumbledore, for goodness sakes! I was expecting to feel the loss at least as much as I felt the death of Gandalf in Lord of the Rings. But no, it happened and I didn't even flinch. No emotional reaction at all. And I so love Dumbledore! How could they have fumbled in such a major highlight? Dumbledore's death is supposed to be a high point not only of this movie but of the entire series! If his death was played out as uneventfully, it doesn't bode well for the other Harry Potter films to come.

Such a pity!