Is there too much time spent on young love in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? That’s something we’ve discussed before, but now Entertainment Weekly‘s film critics, Lisa Schwarzbaum and Owen Gleiberman, have weighed in. Watch their chat below, and you find out that Owen, who still ranks the film among the Harry Potter series best, believes the hormones hurt the movie. “The actors are appealing, but I think it really bogs the movie down because all the little romantic plots, and seeing these characters develop crushes, isn’t really wound into the story. It’s just kind of there.” Lisa counters: “But it makes you feel that they are people that you could really understand. That actually inside, internally, there’s a magic going on in a teenager’s life, which, to each teenager, is almost as big as dealing with good and evil.”
It’s been jokingly suggested that women will like Half-Blood Prince more than men. Does it come down to a gender issue when you’re talking romance at Hogwarts? Let’s find out. Vote in the EW.com poll below.
More ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’:
‘Harry Potter’ geeks: Vent your frustrations about the movie changes here!
Read Lisa Schwarzbaum’s full review
Dalton Ross and Josh Wolk talk ‘Half-Blood Prince’ romance on Must List Live!
‘Half-Blood Prince’: 8 exclusive pics from EW’s photo shoot
It looks like it is something of a gender thing after all. Personally, I think this is the first movie in the series where I felt they were actually teens in school going through things that normal teens go through, and not just people that expect to get into precarious situations all the time.
i thought it was definitely too bogged down with romantic plots. the half blood prince story line was completely ignored. they just happened to allude to it in at the end. okay???? could have sworn that the title of the book and movie was Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince and not Harry Potter and The Raging Hormones
@Vanessa, I’m assuming you read the book but the book has a lot of romamnce in it too. I thought they did capture the plot of the book. We found o9ut about the hocruxes and who the Half Blood Prince was.
Did Owen miss his 9th grade class on archetypes? Star Wars was so very not the first with these character types.
This is the first time I was unhappy with a Harry Potter movie, they had missed soooo many parts from the book it was rediculous.. They missd out on the parts about Tom Riddles mother and father and also the head masters funeral.. I think I waited in excitement for the movie to come out for nothing because I didnt like it at all.. This being the 6th movie i would hav expected it to go off with a bang and have people wanting more…”NOT HAPPY HARRY POTTER!!”
I agree fully with Lisa’s argument. Also, I’m probably alone on this, but after HBP, I really wanted Harry and Hermione together.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was the biggest disappointment I have ever endured. Tom Riddle’s family, which plays a large part of who he becomes, is never even mentioned, the “half blood prince” is just breezed over, there is no dramatic fight scene at Hogwart’s at the end, and Dumbledore’s funeral is non-existent. The only reason so much time was spent on the romantic aspect of the story was to keep their targeted 13-18 years old audience.
I must say that if you read the books, as i have done, you understand all the romanticism envolved in the film, you have to look at all the movies together (just like the book series) to understand the character’s behaviors.
I thought that the Half-Blood Prince wasn’t a really good movie. They took out many important things that was on the book. The movie could have been better.
I was also hoping that Harry and Hermione would get together. But Ginny and Harry are a pretty cute couple. But Hermione and Ron?! She can do better, I think.
I was shocked when I saw HBP. First off, the story line with Snape being the prince was TOTALLY ignored. BOOM Dumbledor is dead and there’s no funeral, everybody is just ready to go hunting horcruxes! Ok…what about tom riddle’s family. My sister had never read the book, and when it was over, she said “WTF is a half blood prince?” Serious it made no sense. The teenage romance bogged it down so much it was painful to watch at times. I was so excited because this was my absolute favorite and it was a complete bomb. Also, They made up so many little side plots that weren’t in the book it didn’t even make sense. For instance, the fish bowl thing Lily gave to Slughorn? HUH!? I understand that movies are never exactly like the book, but they BARELY kept with the actual story line. And the weird little “Harry riding around on trains in little whinging and meeting up with cafe waitresses?” WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!?!!? This is really depressing. Visually it was stunning but thats about it
Half-Blood Prince was actually a disappointing movie. They missed so many important things from the book, that would make everyone understand the movie better.
Also, I would have thought that Hermione and Harry would end up together, but Harry and Ginny are still a veryy cute couple. But Hermione and Ron?! I think she could do better.
Do you all feel duped? This movie (and the book) prove that a single mother with a few characters blowing in the wind can NEVER compare to literary genius of Tolkien- Alan Rickman is the only shining light of plot development in this money making excuse of a movie.I feel used and abused after seeing this movie.Still in shock.TWO movies to finish off this extortion!! Surely i can not be the only one who sees through this charade to make money.
Once again, I am dissapointed in the current HP movie. It’s the same thing that happened with Order Of The Phoenix. It wasn’t bad, but not great either. And yes, like everyones been saying, they did focus more on the love situations than the actual book. Even though they attempted to at least make us remember we’re watching a HP movie, it’s just not the same. If Deathly Hallows P1 doesn bring back that ol HP feeling, I give up. Though I could seem them just for Hermione and Ginny…..:P.
I was Harry’s age when I first read this book and I found all the romantic stuff completely unconvincing and unrelatable. I just think J. K. Rowling is really really bad at depicting teen romance, compared with other young adult writers. It just sounds contrived, as if she puts it in because she thinks the age of the characters demands it. She writes about it in a v. cringe-worthy way. I HATED THOSE PARTS OF HARRY POTTER 6. THEY WERE COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY. I don’t buy that Harry would like Ginny. And Hermione should have ended up with Krum. And Ron’s annoying.
Huge of the series. Harry would just stand there and watch Dumbledore die, yeah right when has he ever listened to other people. To over the top movie production, when you have a good thing put it in film don’t change it and think you can do better. Too much romance, too few key plot points, so much for learning about Voldemort which is what the book emphasized. And good luck on the Horcrux since you don’t know what any of them are, I guess not knowing riddle’s background is going to help so much when you have to track them down. This movie is almost as bad as Battlefield Earth compared to the book of the same title. Decided to rent the rest of the series why waste good money on people who are far more interested in making trash movies then keeping to key plot points from the book. Have a nice day