Harry Potter – And The Half Baked Prince
Is it just me or does this storyline suck?
What’s up with the latest installment in the boy wizard series? I mean, come on, have we become so love-struck with Harry Potter and everything Hogwarts that we’ve become blind to poor filmmaking and storytelling? It seems anything Potter, no matter how poorly done is accepted wholesale, without the normal critique that accompanies all other ventures. To be specific, if one were to analyze the latest installment: The Half Blood Prince, on any scale of movie making revelry, I’d have it give it a C-.
Yes, below average is the mark I give the half blood prince which can be traced to both deficiencies in the source material and in screenplay adaptation; plot holes that keep bothering me in the overall storyline. For instance, where is the omnipotent Harry Potter we saw in the last installment, The Order of the Phoenix? And even in the Goblet of Fire, we saw a strong powerful Harry Potter who could do battle with the dark forces as he learns to flex his magical muscles. Tremendous lightning bolts of magic being repelled and thrown back to defeat his enemy. In The Half Blood Prince we watch in vain as Harry tries to zap Professor Snape, after he and fellow Death Eaters have committed their dastardly deed. Snape casually deflects Harry’s powerball with one hand and then zaps Harry back causing him to fall to the ground. WTF! This unfortunately is the big battle scene in the movie. It’s almost an afterthought, a sort of, okay let’s add in some magic ball throwing just to spice it up. Alright, to be fair I will mention the excursion into Voldemort’s secret cave hideout where on an inner cave island Harry and Dumbledore do battle with what look like emancipated Holocaust survivors only to orb back to the castle at Hogwarts with no reason or explanation. It was nothing but simple spice and icing added to the half baked cinematic cake they’re shoving down our visual palettes.
Where is the Atomic Writer going in this post? There is a method to my madness, as is usually the case, so please bear with me. What we have here reminds me of episodic television. Each episode follows a formula where the protagonist becomes entwined in seemingly inescapable danger only to find a way out of the mess and rescue the damsel in distress in time to break for the top of the hour sales pitch. The Harry Potter series is just the same. Come on, if these people were anything close to realistic wizards with the capability to perform magic and such, why not just grab Harry and orb off to the dark one and finish business. Why, in The Half Blood Prince does Snape, whose cover is now blown, just zap Harry, tie him up and fly off to Voldemort; because they need to get at least two more movies out of it. It’s all about money. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY!
Well, Mr. Atomic Writer, you H.P. fans are now barking, you just don’t like the story. I love the story, but on each installment I am getting more and more disappointed. Where is the creativity of the first three movies, the sense of wonder and awe that J.K. Rowling instilled in the concept of a school of magic and all the associated trimmings that have since become worn out novelty. The storyline should have been over after the Prisoner of Azkaban when Harry who believes it was Sirius Black who caused his parents death, finds out at the end the truth. This should be the end, all done, it’s a wrap… But wait, the author didn’t just want to write a trilogy, heavens no, she needed to write at least seven installments. Why? MONEY…
Let’s be honest, if these wizards truly had magical powers then why is Harry allowed to live? If he is the chosen one, who could kick the evil ones butt, then why keep beating around the bush, with near escapes and cliff hangers leaving us on the edge of our seats waiting for the next installment? Answer: to keep us coming back for more.
J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros, and the system need to keep working, keep collecting paychecks. It’s sad but true. They need, like the rest of us, to keep eating. But in the process they are insulting our intelligence by artificial constructs and cheap parlor tricks that keep Harry, Hogwarts, and their friends, running in circles. Why not reinvent some of the original magic that went into the original books? Why stretch out the storyline to the point where our intelligence is continually rendered moot in order to watch more magic ball throwing, broomstick competition, and now in the half blood prince, childish kissing and love potions that try to further develop a character that by now is not half baked, but well over cooked.
Remember, never stop looking up at the night sky and asking…what if?
Victor Grippi
The Atomic Writer
