A few days ago, Warner Bros. released another full trailer (so did everyone else it seems) for the upcoming-but-delayed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. This, along with the international trailer released at the end of October are rubbing salt in the wounds of those who couldn’t wait to see the film in theaters this Friday and now have to wait till next summer.
The first full trailer and last month’s both looked very good to me – good enough to almost make me (who’s not a fan) go see it in theaters. I loved the style and tone as well as the more adult-natured themes that we were being presented with.
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This newest trailer however, brings me back to reality. Although the visuals are spectacular (something that’s been improving with each successive installment), the trailer shows off weak attempts at humor. Is it the acting or the dialogue that causes this? None of the supposed comedic parts come off as funny to me. About 90% of the trailer is showing off special effects which look great but seem to be the main focus (understandable for a trailer, I suppose).
Here’s the trailer so you can see for yourselves:
For fans of the Harry Potter franchise, maybe there’s nothing wrong with the trailer and you’re completely excited. This is totally understandable. However, to me, it’s not that great and it is no surprise that there’s quite a bit of mixed feedback coming from the test-screenings of the film. I also hear there are quite a lot of omissions and deviations from the novel in regards to characters not being included and the final act being entirely different. However, the prints shown were rough and included and unfinished post-production work so the final product could be very different.
I think the movie will turn out to be very good for fans and movie-goers alike. When the time comes, I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait for those who are dying to see it.
What do you think of the trailer?
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince hits theaters July 17, 2009.
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16 Comments
I can tell you why you don’t like this trailer as much: it’s an international version.
No, seriously. Look at all the international trailers for this movie so far and they’re the only ones that use that silly humor in them, which makes this movie look like nothing much better than Twilight. On the other hand, watch the American trailers and you’ll probably be much more satisfied.
I’m not well-versed in the industry enough to know exactly how international trailers differ from their American counterparts, but they always seem to have less powerful music, more humor jabs, seemingly random shots from the movie, and a lack of plot (yes, even trailers can tell a story).
Either way, I agree with you on everything else. As for the silly humor, you’re quite correct. The reasoning is simple: these actors are still kids. And they were hired as even younger kids. Nobody knew if they were going to be able to act as they grew up, the producers just figured they could teach them to act. It worked out fairly well, but in some cases it doesn’t seem to have worked out at all (i.e. Emma Watson, sorry Emma!).
oh I thought the trailer was fantastic! It looks like it will be so much better than the last one.
Generally speaking I tend to find that international trailers and posters are far better than the US versions.
Vic
it’s simply a matter of taste I believe. As for opinions about who can act and who can’t, i.e. Emma Watson, she’s the narrative voice for the rest of us while we watch Harry’s story, I think she’s done okay, but of course ymmv. I’d like to think that all of the kids have done quite well, growing up through the films, fans of the books are torn though, because the movies do miss a lot of the nuances (mostly humourous) that is in the books. The occasional movie inclusion of said humor, when you catch glimpses of them in the trailer, might not be found funny in context if you’re not well versed with the source material (kind of like any situation where Spock agrees with anyone else during any of the Star Trek films or episodes). Remember, the movies are growing darker with each story, so any nod to the humor may even seem a bit out of place.
@pirateden
That stood out for me as well – in other trailers the movie looks extremely serious and dark, so seeing the slapstick bits above seemed really out of place.
Vic
The books have some humor in them, which comes as a welcome relief to the otherwise relentless doom and gloom. The overall “Harry Potter” story is a pretty dark and bleak one.
I think it might seem less out of place if one were a bit more familiar with the characters, it didn’t strike me as particularly jarring.
The book does have some funny elements to them but they are few with most of the story being much darker. I have read the books a billion times and those cave scenes look awesome. If you have not read the books and your worried about it having to many weak funny parts to it don’t be because this books and the movie are very dark. It’s like piratedan said you have to know the books to get the humor in some places and I think at this point Warner Brothers is now focusing on the fans of the books and not the general population because it’s to late in the story for them to play catch up to those who have not read the books. This movie is going to be the best so far so just go see it.
good points,
I think it’s the inclusion of out-of-context humour that makes this trailer weaker compared to its predecessors.
But I guess they have to throw in some character interaction and light-heartedness for fans, especially those who are big fans of those specific characters/actors.
I am a Potter fan and will see the movie. The weak humor may be simply a bone to the readers of the books because they will recognize what element of the story has made it into the movie. Those books are huge and there is no way the entire contents can be put into one film (thats one film per book).
As for Emma’s acting: I always liked her portrayal of Hermonie (spelling?). She is my favorite character. I felt she did the slight misfit bookworm who gets pulled out of her shell by Ron and Harry quite well.
HATER THIS TRAILER IS HOT!!! GET OVER YOURSELF… BESIDE YOU KNOW YOU CAN’T WAIT TO GO SEE THIS MOVIES SO PLEASE BE POSSITIVE MAKES YOU MORE NICER..
@ Picazo,
“I think the movie will turn out to be very good for fans and movie-goers alike. When the time comes, I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait for those who are dying to see it.”
More careful reading, less capital letters.
I love the fact that they put some humor in this series but why did they wait until the last few movies that are dark and spooky. The first three movies could have really used some humor.
Emma Watson is too pretty and too charismatic to be Hermione Granger. She was absolutely perfect in HP1 but has slipped in the sequels. I think she will be great in other movies, and of the three, I believe her post-HP future is the brightest.
~ RF
i look forward to see this film, very much. I think Hermione and Ron are great,and other actors as well. For example, Snape.
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