Desecration!

I just saw Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince for the first time. I don't get out to the theaters anymore and wait for movies to come out on DVD before I see them. All I can say is this was an absolute disgrace.

I have read all the books and now seen all the films currently out. The books are of course amazing and they really do read on an adult level, especially by book 4 when people start to die. But book 6, the Half Blood Prince, is by far in my opinion the most intense and heartbreaking story of the whole lot, even more so then the final book which is the actual war.

Up till now I have also been greatly impressed with the movies. Each one was extremely well-made and told with great loyalty to the subject matter. Of course there were some changes, there had to be. The movies for each book could run hours if they didn't cut some things, but they stayed true to what was most important.

So, that is why I am completely dumbfounded and dismayed at the total desecration of book 6 as it appears in the movie. Almost everything that made this book heartwrenching is gone. Much of the subtle machinations that go on in the book that give you hints of what is to come have been completely stripped from the movie. Even Dumbledore's death scene has been completely altered.

Snape didn't sneak up on Harry Potter. Harry had been hidden behind his cloak and immobilized by Dumbledore so he wouldn't reveal himself to the traitors. The part where Harry tells everyone that Dumbledore is dead and who did it is gone. Most of the clues to Voldemort's past as told by his memories are untold. Really, they could have cut the Quidditch scenes as they played no real part in the story and included the details for the plot that were needed.

I am disgusted at what they did with this movie. It's a complete and total waste compared to the book. And like I said, based on what they did with the other movies I was totally surprised by how little respect was given this story. I hope that by splitting the last book into 2 movies they will do it more credit than they did Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.