by Jennifer Hudock

Created on: July 15, 2008

Anyone who has been a fan of the Harry Potter books, and watched as they came alive on the big screen, can tell you the often vast difference between the books and films has tarnished the plot in ways one can't be sure are fixable. With the employment of so many different directors, the vision of each was played out on the screen, but how often was that vision in tune with that of the majority reader?

The first two films very easily set up the world and didn't stray far from the plot line, and the third book did its duty in introducing some of the key characters from Harry's parents past. Many adult readers were finally able to identify as characters like Remus Lupin and Sirius Black made their relationship to Harry's past known, and at long last Severus Snape seemed more than just a mere pain in Harry's cauldron.

As Harry and his friends matured, so too did the readers, but it often seemed that the films held back on pertinent issues that would further the maturation of the overall plot. In "The Goblet of Fire" film, a very important piece of information is lightly glossed over: that Severus Snape was once a death eater. Dumbledore merely waves his hand at the wizengamut and explains he had already cleared Snape of those charges, and it's never mentioned again. The fifth film, "Order of the Phoenix" also managed to leave out much of the bickering between Snape and Sirius Black, as well as Sirius Black's adolescent confusion over the differences between Harry and his deceased father.

With "The Half-Blood Prince" bringing into play some of the darkest material yet to happen in the Harry Potter universe, one can only hope that the director does not hold back and disappoint the audience who has watched this story grow. The subtle revelation of several truths in the "Half-Blood Prince" are essential to the plot of the seventh and final installment of the story. Without them, the plot will fall to ruin.

All too often Hollywood filmmakers seem to sacrifice those elements of story that make readers hold a book tight to their chest and daydream. The essential points of plot that readers feel the story would be no good without often get hacked out and tossed away to cater to the flashy scenes that make good advertisements. These stories have sold millions of copies all over the world, and one can only hope that in the "Half-Blood Prince" there is a return to plot that was recognizable in the first two films, as well as an attention to detail that will ensure that there is no need to "make things up later" to fill in the gaping plot holes left by poor screenwriting and directing.

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