One Scene From Harry Potter Books That Could've Made Sixth Movie So Much Better
Sometimes the scenes from the books work better for movies than things that were originally created for film.
We all remember how Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie starts for Harry as Professor Dumbledore ruins his date and takes him on a mission to persuade Professor Slughorn to return to Hogwarts.
The scene was quite bizarre to watch back at the time. It's not just about Harry recklessly reading a magical newspaper in an actual Muggle cafe, but also about the waitress looking weirdly adult for him. Last but not least, the only character development we received from the scene was that Harry is... a grown-up who likes to flirt with girls? Well, okay.
According to fans, however, there was a scene that was actually worth adapting from the original book. In Half-Blood Prince, there is an episode when Professor Dumbledore arrives to pick Harry up — not in a cafe where he ruins his date but rather at Privet Drive, in the Dursleys' house.
Engaging into a heated conversation with Harry's guardians, Dumbledore accused them of failing to treat Harry like a son, harassing him and being cruel towards him.
"You have never treated Harry as a son. He has known nothing but neglect and often cruelty at your hands. The best that can be said is that he has at least escaped the appalling damage you have inflicted upon the unfortunate boy sitting between you," Dumbledore told them in the book.
Imagine this scene being included in the movie adaptation instead of the bizarre cafe interaction? Yeah, many fans agree with you. For many of them, the cafe scene was nothing short of "cringe".
"Dumbledore with the Dursleys is an interesting and emotionally charged scene, and they decide that some rando flirting with Harry plus Harry being careless with a magical newspaper is what needs to be in the movie? Whenever I see scenes like that one I'm reminded of how much stuff they leave out because of the limited time they have and I'm like...this is the scene that made the editing cut? Really?" Redditor chiko95 argued.
In fact, even after all these years, fans have plenty of issues with the Half-Blood Prince movie. The majority of the scenes were "cringeworthy", they say, with the rare decent episodes not saving the movie from being "a disaster".
According to fans, the fifth and sixth movie have "flipped" the tones compared to the books, and this decision was not the best one.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince premiered in theaters in 2009, while the novel of the same name was released in 2005.