Artistic License

I’ve been rushing to get the book done, so I’m posting just the pencils for today’s comic. The final version will be up tonight.

BOOK NEWS!!!
Next week I hope to post information on the book preorder (that is the first HijiNKS Ensue collection which will have all the comics from 2007 and 2008 + new commentary + never before seen early artwork and other neatnesses).

Personally I enjoyed “Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince” but thought the ending fell a little flat. OK, a LOT flat. I could make a list of the things that I think shouldn’t have been left out or altered but if you’ve read the book you probably have a similar if not identical mental list. As for the omissions and alterations, this movie seems to have taken a different approach from the previous ones. It’s like the screenwriter said, “Harry needs to get from point A to point C. In the books point B is 5 chapters long, so let’s just have someone walk up and tell Harry everything he would have learned in those chapters and call it done.” That sounds negative, but I was actually OK with it. I understand they can’t leave everything in, so getting the general gist across the audience makes perfect sense.

If you saw “The Half-Blood Prince” this week, post your thoughts in the comments. [BE NICE!!!]

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52 Comments

  1. I don't know what you mean. Breaking a couple of windows is TOTALLY the same as an all-out raging battle at Hogwarts.

  3. Going to see it tonight. Since book 6 is the smallest since book 2, how could they possibly skip over plot points? I mean… were there that many plot points in book 6? It was just kind of like how to get from point A to point B.

    (I always though book 6 to be the worst in the collection. As though Ms. Rowling rushed through it to meet deadlines and didn't have the opportunity to take her time and make it rock.)

    • "how could they possibly skip over plot points"

      I guess you'll know within a few hours. I dont see how they managed to ADD things that werent in the book at the expense of characters and plot elements that were cut.

  4. I loved the movie. I thought that they put in the salient point from the book. However I would have liked to have had Dumbledore's funeral in there as well. That is such a huge scene for both the characters and the readers that I was disappointed that it wasn't included.

    For people who hated it because it didn't live up to the book:
    You can't expect the movie to have every little nuance and detail from the book, especially ones as long as the HP books. You have to take the movie as an homage to the book, not as a literal translation. Go into it looking to be entertained for a few hours and you'll be much happier.

      • I agree with you, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the 7.0 (For lack of an official name I'm going with BSG numbering) movie will feature the funeral. Do remember that not only do the 6th and 7th books have barely any gap between them, but due to the splitting of 7 they may NOT have enough to put in the first one. Therefore, I'm hoping they use some of the unused stuff from 6.

  5. It was to be expected that they would leave out a tone of detail and character development. They skipped over some plot points, changed some things, and greatly condensed a lot of scenes. But it was still a very enjoyable movie. I'd go so far as to say that it's the best of the six movies so far, and I'd watch it a thousand times over before I watch Transformers: ROTF again.

    • Im still digesting it to determine if I think its the best of the series or not. it was certainly the funniest and possible the most entertaining. I think if I hadnt JUST finished the books I would be blown away,

  7. I did kinda miss the big fight at the end, however I understood why they didn't do it. After the climax of Dumbldore's death, it needed to follow Harry and his reaction and feelings, otherwise it would have felt like they were trying to reach another crescendo. That wouldn't have worked in the movie like it did in the book. All in all, I really enjoyed the movie. I look forward to seeing it again as I'm always less critical the second time.
    Also, I totally wore my Wizard Pride shirt to the midnight showing. It was a hit!

    • Thanks for showing the WP shirt to more potter fans.

      I hear ya about the ending. It would have been very Return of the King with 2 or 3 endings had they left all of that material end. I still would have liked to see it though.

      • The only thing that truly annoyed me about the end was the cop-out for Harry and Ginny's talk. The yspent SO MUCH TIME with the two of them that not seeing Harry tell Ginny he can't stay with her was really, really disappointing.

        Would have loved to see the fight and the funeral but for whatever reason, the Ginny thing made me feel robbed.

        • What was up with pretty much ignoring Ginny for most of the movies (even though she is present a lot in the books and winds up being pretty damn important to Harry) yet they somehow managed to find time for Harry's snogging sessions with Cho?

  8. I know how to watch a book adaptation, thank you. But I was so distracted for the first half of the film, that I was disappointed. This script was the farthest from the book than the other movies. It's not a bad movie, just most of the plot is missing.

    Plus, from what orifice will they pull out all the missing details needed to end this movie – or will that be vastly different as well?

    • I have the same reservations. The changes in this movie are going to require MASSIVE changes in the next 2. I heard they got Bill Nighy (sp?) to play the minister. But since he was left out of this movie and isnt around for much of book 7 Im not sure what theyre going to do with him. Essentially he will have one scene.

  9. Since I make a point NOT to re-read the books right before the movie I enjoyed it a lot… I guess I just love harry potter for all its worth and I will take it anyway I can get it… I thought it was filmed well and the acting was amazing. they mixed the darkness and the comedy really well and I laughed and I cried and all that fun stuff… I think after suffering through the movie adaptation of "Timeline" NO adaptation will be that bad…

  10. The problem with the movie cannot be that they left out plot points. Much of book 6 was filth. Not as much as book 7, but they went downhill after book 4, for crying out loud. I still don't see why everyone loves Harry Potter so much when he is such a shallow character. Rowling's writing leaves much to be desired, or rather leaves us desiring much less. After she fired her editors in a fit of being a diva she forgot that bigger is not necessarily better. Book 7 she just forgot what she was writing all together, and I have no idea how they're going to make one, let alone two movies out of that.

    Let the flaming begin!

  11. I second the above opinion! After 4 it wasn't fun anymore Harry went from being an awkward magical adolescent to an emo wizard.

  14. I love that the Gryffindor sword is in her vault! Haven't seen it yet (going tomorrow night), but I didn't expect it to be totally faithful to the books, given what's gone before. But leaving out the funeral? Wow. That seems to be problematic for the last two movies. I may be a bit more judgemental now that I've read all the books (hadn't read any up till now), but yeah, I get that they can't include it all. Hoping I'll still like it anyhow.

  15. Joel, this is one of your best. Kudoss!

    My little brother said that the movie was "meh". It seems like people who really want to like the movie will find reasons to. I personally have no interest in paying $10 to see it (especially since I haven't seen the fifth one; I enjoyed the fourth one, but mostly because it played out like a 2-hour-long metal video).

  17. Also, did anyone notice the silly Umbridge toy in the twin's store (they actually use Umbridge's line "I will have order!" from the last film.)?

  18. My biggest problem with the movie was the reveal of the title character. It's totally un-Snape-like to just blurt out to Harry something personal about himself. A slip like "You dare use my spells against me" followed by a revelation on Harry's part would have been much better, especially if buttressed with one scene somewhere in the movie with the main 3 discussing speculation on the identity of the half-blood prince. As it was, it was just a nearly indiscernable nod, like "Oh, yeah, you're probably wondering where the title came from – here it is"

    That said, I too felt it was the best of the six movies. I especially appreciated the difficulty in keeping the questions going about Snape's intentions and motivations, which was done so excellently in the books, being duplicated in a different medium. Bravo for that.

  19. I do like to go for a nice, refreshing swim in my piles of galleons each morning.

    Nice comic, btw!

    Wouldn't Josh have carved a lightning-bolt scar in his head for the movie opening?

  20. I was pretty disappointed by how much this book seemed like filler until the 7th movie and much of it was to fast. The camera work was beautiful though, and the cinematography was great.
    Did anyone else notice the abrupt scene shifts? The editing seemed to quick sometimes. I did see this on a digital projector on a tiny screen in the back of a restaurant which is the only "theater" showing new releases. 😛

  22. I personally can't believe they left out Fleur's engagement to Bill. It may not have been as crucial in this movie, but the wedding at the Burrow (which has somehow burned to the ground) is an important scene in the final book.

  23. It's been a while since I've read The Half-Blood Prince (I'm a terrible fangirl, I know…) but one of the things I caught was the fact that they left out a lot of the pensieve scenes, including the one where we learn the history of the ring Tom Riddle wears, which is a vastly important part if you ask me.

  24. They'll get to Riddle's past in the next two films. I liked how they foreshadowed the Deathly Hallows, and the Horcruxes; this film could never have been made quite as well before the release of the final book; I consider this to be the beginning of a trilogy. However, I'll never pay to see this film again, for one reason, and one reason alone: they completely wasted Rickman's performance in his final scene.

    "Kill me then," panted Harry, who felt no fear at all, but only rage and contempt. "Kill me like you killed him, you coward -"

    "DON'T -" screamed Snape, and his face was suddenly demented, inhuman, as though he was in as much pain as the yelping, howling dog stuck in the burning house behind them – "CALL ME COWARD!"

    And he slashed at the air: Harry felt a white-hot, whiplike something hit him across the face and was slammed backward into the ground.

    • Yeah it seemed like they just got to the end and yelled 'CRAP WE HAVE 15 MINUTES FOR 100 PAGES OF MATERIAL'

      A few great moments which got left out that I think the actors really could have run with.

      And yet – still very much enjoyed the flick.

  25. Heh… it's crazy how so many people have so many different opinions about the same thing.

    I thought of all the movies, THIS one held the closest to the book. Then again, I didn't reread it and didn't remember a lot of it until it started enfolding on the screen. Grayback was too easy to miss in this movie, as was his wanted poster.

    My husband thought the movie totally lacked any action. I think that's fair, but the book kinda did too… until the very end.

    My biggest disappointment was Fawkes. He was supposed to be there, singing, the whole time… not just when he flew away. I was looking forward to hearing what kind of song they would give him.

    Also, my husband leaned over and whispered, "count how many ejaculate references they make with Hermione's mouth." The Harry/Ginny shoe thing fit right in. You all remember being teenagers, right?

  27. Completely agree with Bluenight – it was the main scene that sets Snape up for the last book/2 films. He was meant to be in pieces, but all we got was another Rickman monotone! Has his face fossilised and he can't emote any more? I still say Alan Cumming would have been a far better Snape!

    With regard to losing the funeral scene, I'm guessing they'll have it at the beginning of DH pt 1 but without it you don't get the sense of loss, emptiness and determination that Harry is starting to feel. It seems like he just feels like – oh it's sad, Dumbledore's dead – gotta find the Horcruxes myself now. There wasn't enough to give you a true sense of the closeness of their relationship or the sense of safety Dumbledore gave Harry.

    I'm now wondering if it's Dumbledore's funeral that the death eaters attack, given that the Burrow is now a charred cinder.

    The two characters that were left out that bother me the most are Dobby and Kreacher – they're both important in the last book and to leave them out really would be unacceptable.

  28. If there had just been the big fight at the end, i would have walked out of the movie feeling completely content. everything that needed to be compromised b/c of space/time wouldn't have bothered me if they had just had the damn fight scene at Hogwarts!

  29. I stopped watching the movies after the first one, since I liked the books so much, I didn't want to surrender myself to someone else' interpretation of it.

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