Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

This was a serious disappointment. The visuals were very muddy -- as though Hogwarts magicked away a third of its color and even more of its light -- and the story just felt like a link between two bigger movies rather than a story of its own.

Also, it did the viewers a great disservice by making the demand that we be familiar with both the books AND the earlier films. I don't think they ever called Professor McGonagall by name in the movie, which meant that it was necessary that we possess the visual knowledge, only available in the previous films, that Maggie Smith is McGonagall. While that was more annoying that a true mental feat since the role is so recognizable, the film also ridiculously expected us to remember the casting of minor roles. Ron referring to "Lavvy", especially in a British accent, confused me for quite some time. I'd read the book when it first came out (that's four years ago) and saw the last movie in theaters (about two years ago). I could not remember who Ron was dating in the book and they took their sweet time filling me in during the movie.

I felt incredibly frustrated due to these oversights -- they felt like a lack of respect. Basically, I'm a FAN and I was scratching my head over who was who every once in a while. Was I supposed to have studied before buying a ticket?

C