(Released 7/15/08)
There’s nothing more exciting for a Harry Potter fan than the opening of every movie when the viewer sees the title, in this case – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – to then be taken beyond the title and enter the magical world we all know and love. The sixth installment is very different from the first five for one very important reason – everyone knows that Lord Voldemort has returned. Even though he did, in fact, return at the end of the fourth movie, only a handful of people knew or believed. This awareness sets a completely different tone for the sixth movie; a darker one.
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, played by Michael Gambon, has taken necessary measures to learn more about Tom Riddle’s past. He invites Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) along to help him. We get to see Voldemort as a young boy and again as a teenager. While Harry wants to learn as much as he can about Voldemort and how to stop him, he is preoccupied with the whereabouts of Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), who keeps disappearing somewhere in the school. Early on it is made known that Malfoy has been ordered to complete a task set by Voldemort, a task that he probably won’t be able to do. Professor Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) makes the Unbreakable Vow with Malfoy’s mother to protect Malfoy and do the task himself if Draco is unable to follow through.
While Voldemort’s presence has cast a dark shadow over the entire wizarding world, author J.K. Rowling and screen writer Steve Kloves balances the ominous mood with the light relief of comedy and some newfound romance. Harry and his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger (Rupert Grint and Emma Watson), have returned for their sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For the first time in the series, they seem like high school kids with the drama and awkwardness that everyone goes through at the age.
As always, Ron is hilarious, especially when he accidentally takes a love potion intended for Harry. He also starts going out with Lavender Brown, making Hermione extremely jealous. They go back-and-forth with their love-hate relationship until Ron finally breaks up with Lavender. I don’t know what it’s going to be like when or if Ron and Hermione finally get together, but the chemistry doesn’t really seem to fit on-screen. Maybe it will. I hope it does.
As for Harry and Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright), this was a big disappointment. I knew it was coming and was excited for them to get together. In the fifth movie I could see Ginny growing up and getting cuter and definitely cooler. But she didn’t live up to it. She has no facial expressions, always looking the same. Her scenes with Harry are so awkward, which makes sense because it is a high school romance but c’monnn. Another comedic performance comes from newcomer Jim Broadbent, who plays Professor Horace Slughorn. The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher always lasts only one year at Hogwarts. This time, finally, Dumbledore gives the position to Snape and lets Slughorn take Potions class. Broadbent is delightfully silly and an innocent, and it’s in his class where Harry is given his Potions book, which once belonged to the Half-Blood Prince. The book is full of spells and incantations and helpful hints which puts Harry at the top of the class…even ahead of Hermione.
As for the book-to-movie differences, of course there are many, but not so much that avid readers will be offended. Most of it was included…just summarized. A big chunk of the book is learning more about Voldemort’s childhood and past, and that was really condensed in the movie. Still, the scenes included were spot on. The ending left a little something to be desired. Like in Order of the Phoenix, there’s a huge battle at the end with the Death Eaters and the Order and all Harry’s friends…including Neville Longbottom. Where was he the whole movie? They turned it into just Dumbledore against Malfoy, Snape, and the Death Eaters.
And speaking of Malfoy. He’s been such a little punk in previous movies…and a little scaredy-cat, too. I’ve never been super impressed by his performances, but he is terrific in Prince. It’s hard not to feel sympathy for him. This is also the first time we really get to see Snape in action with those on the Dark side. Whose side is he really on? Obviously, Harry thinks he’s on Voldemort’s side. Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter), on the other hand, thinks he’s on Dumbledore’s side. In previous movies, all we see is Snape loathing Harry and vice versa. This is the first time we see a little bit more. We see him with Malfoy and having a couple conversations with Dumbledore. If you’ve read the book, you can see some foreshadowing for Book VII, but if you’re just a moviegoer, I don’t think it gives anything away.
Ultimately, the sixth movie sets the stage for the final two movies, which will most definitely include a huge showdown between Harry and Voldemort. If you’ve seen the first five movies and/or read the books, Half-Blood Prince will not disappoint.
I loved it…then again, I’m a Harry Potter fan, “through and through”.
IMDB 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes 86%
Moviewiseguys 9/10
