All New, All Dark: The Disappointing New Trailer for HARRY POTTER 6
by E. Christopher Clark | Monday, March 9, 2009
Of all the big movie trailers that popped up last week, the new trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was, for me, the biggest disappointment. And let me put this in perspective: It takes a lot to disappoint me in a movie trailer. I am, on the whole, very easy to please. But this trailer—this trailer just did not do it for me.
My main problem with this trailer is the way that it manipulates the viewer into believing that this film will be much darker than it actually will be. In every interview I have read or seen regarding Half-Blood Prince it has been been implied that the film will be just as much about the silly romances of Hogwarts as it is about the dark, seedy underbelly of what’s going on on campus this year. This trailer, on the other hand, seems designed to make the viewer believe that what they are in for is a dark, dark, dark experience with very little light at the end of the tunnel. And I think this bit of misdirection was done with a very clear motive.
My guess—and it is only a guess, because I have not yet seen Watchmen—is that this trailer was put together exclusively for use in front of Warner Brothers’ big property of the moment. And, that being the case (at least in my mind), this trailer feels dirty to me. It feels like it’s trying to win over an audience it might not really have any business winning over.
The only parts that felt rewarding for me as a viewer were the brief glimpses of Narcissa and Draco Malfoy. Narcissa, Draco’s mother, looks even more menacing than I ever imagined. And Draco… well, let’s just say that I’ve never been a fan of Tom Felton’s portrayal of Harry’s nemesis. But in this trailer, and in the other brief snippets of his performance that I’ve seen, I feel like he finally takes the role to the place I always wanted him to take it.
So, what did you think?
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Comments
E. Christopher Clark says:
I’m not really worried. I’m more annoyed.
Jason says:
I don’t see the problem. Sure, they may be trying to get the Watchmen crowd, but there’s a lot of overlap in that crowd anyway. Besides, the HBP is a dark book anyway (Hello!! Inferi?!), so it stands to reason that they would make some pretty dark trailers. The fact that they choose Watchmen to debut that trailer, if that is in fact what they did, doesn’t seem misleading; seems like good marketing. Honestly, I realize they’ll focus a lot on the romances, but I hope that’s a minor subplot, as it is in the book. If anything, the previous trailers may have been more misleading because they may be hiding to true, dark nature of this film. At least, I hope that’s the case.
E. Christopher Clark says:
I guess I just want a little more balance out of my trailers. There was one that was pretty romance heavy, and that one was alright, but the one I liked the most—there have been three or four at this point, I think—struck the perfect chord.
I agree that it’s good marketing to market the dark aspects of the book when running a trailer alongside a dark movie, but I feel like this trailer was just downright bleak. And it didn’t accomplish what it set out to accomplish, at least as far I’m concerned. I actually want to see the movie less after watching this trailer.
Maybe it’s not even that… I don’t know. This whole release has been frustrating. I’m kind of sick of being teased. I just want it to be here. Heck, it should have been in and out of theaters and out on DVD by now. If WB weren’t a bunch of greedy bastards…
Jason says:
Dude, they’re a business. Their primary goal is to make money. Period. And they will take whatever steps necessary to maximize their dollar. Does that make them greedy? One could argue, but they are in the business of being greedy, as are 95% of the for-profit businesses out there. And as long as they keep making good films that the public wants to see, they will continue to be greedy. It’s the way of the world, and no different from any other company.
E. Christopher Clark says:
I know, I know… I’m just bitter. I want my HARRY, and I want it now!
To switch topics a bit: what is your favorite storyline in Half-Blood Prince? What are you most looking forward to seeing adapted for the screen? Is there anything that’s scaring you about this film?
RoboYuji says:
Don’t worry, they’ll probably do other trailers that focus more on the other stuff later on. I seem to recall some of the first trailers for the other movies pretty much did the same thing.