Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Spellbound

It's always amazing when a series of books manages to put a chokehold around the pop culture world and massively feed the global masses until a time before this period seems like it never existed. What is even more fascinating is when that excitement even bleeds into the film adaptations. Not many have been able to hold onto both, but few have, such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy. But now, we have the barley lingering Harry Potter series, which is now limping onto its last legs but still showing that there still can be plenty of surprises and adrenaline left over to fulfill.

It's the sixth year for Harry, Ron and Hermione at Hogwarts and the atmosphere has certainly changed. The Death Eaters, followers of the evil Lord Voldemort, are carrying out attacks, both on the magical and Muggle world alike. Dark themes are abound at the magical school, as they welcome a new teacher, Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent), and the trio of friends look into a new, sinister cast given to Malfoy, as well as trying to educate themselves once again on the secrets of teenage love.

David Yates returns as the director of this film after helming the previous entry Order of the Phoenix. That film was good, but I did blame Yates for allowing the movie to become muddled, emotionally flat and lacking on the charm. This time, Yates has taken the notes and delivers a movie that improves on nearly aspect. Following an intense Death Eater attack in the first few minutes, the movie has action sequences that are more exciting (and comprehendible), emotional scenes that carry more weight, and characters feel more believable. Also, the movie just contains more humor than any of the past films, which is a big reason this stands above many of the others. Another reason would be the new cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, who creates a colorfully bleak palate reminiscent of his French-impressionist work on films like Amelie and A Very Long Engagement.

After so many years, the three leads have had plenty of time to get comfortable with these characters and they certainly don't disappoint here. Daniel Radcliffe is continuing to show the emotional range this character can bring, while Rupert Grint and Emma Watson are making a case for them to be taken seriously as well. Michael Gambon as Dumbledore is really exceptional here, and it is nice to see former bit players like Alan Rickman's Snape, Tom Felton's Malfoy and Helena Bonham Carter's Bellatrix Lestrange find a greater place to carry in this film. The new addition of Broadbent is well placed, and he is magnificent in this role, giving much needed humor and serious emotion whenever needed.

The one hiccup the film sometimes has is in the screenplay. Steve Kloves returns as the writer for the series, having been the sole employee here until a break from the last film. Kloves's familiarity with this story and characters still feels like its going strong, but there some moments when it includes some melodramatic scenes that linger on a bit too long. I would have also considered him ending the movie with a false one he put in that would have left a much more serious emotional impact. However these are not serious complaints, as the movie still manages to flow rather well.

This film soars high above the previous film and makes a serious mark in the franchise. It's looks great, carries many endearing characters and has an intriguing story to go along with it. And don't be fooled by the PG rating; this film still offers plenty of dark elements in its story while also finding the great humor to go along with it as well. In truth, that's the same thing that was found when Alfonso Cuaron did the third installment Prisoner of Azkaban and for the longest time that was the best of the series, in terms of film. At the risk of sounding like one of those TV blurbs, I can say with confidence that this is the best Harry Potter film yet. ***1/2 / ****; GRADE: A-