Movie review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

As I review the movie Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, it's all to easy to go back to the book and think about the things the film makers decided to leave out or change, but that would be doing a great disservice to this movie, which is the best made, best directed, and overall, best film of the series.

The Half-Blood Prince starts out back at the Ministry of Magic where Harry and Dumbledore are getting their pictures taken right after the duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort at the end of Order of the Phoenix. We see a bit of foreshadowing right here with regards to how close the relationship between Harry and Dumbledore is. They're about to go through a lot together. Shortly afterwards, we get a cool looking scene of the Death Eaters pretty much laying waste to London and taking people captive. It's a short scene, but it shows that it's not just the magical world that's in danger these days. We're quickly taken to Little Whinging where just as Harry is about to go on a hot date, Dumbledore shows up and takes him away to meet a new character in the series, Horace Slughorn.

Slughorn is an old friend and former colleague of Dumbledore's, and he's played brilliantly by Jim Broadbent. Dumbledore persuades Slughorn to come back to Hogwarts to teach, but it isn't that simple. In fact, Slughorn possess vital information that will help Harry understand what he must do to defeat Voldemort. And that is the central theme of this story. The other, less important them is the teenage romance going around the school. Hermione's true colors regarding Ron (who's being stalked by Lavender Brown) are finally starting to show, and Harry is beginning to develop a thing for Ginny. Most of it makes for some genuinely funny scenes. None of the romance is ever quite as funny as when Harry take a dose of "Liquid Luck". You have to see it to really appreciate it, but Radcliffe is comedic gold in this scene.

Slughorn is a funny character, but he's also a sad one, and Broadbent gives quite the performance in this movie. Top notch acting. Speaking of top notch acting, we have Alan Rickman playing Snape once again, and all we can do this deep into the series is just thank the Gods for Rickman, because he plays Snape so well, it's impossible to imagine anybody else doing the role. If you didn't already know, Snape has quite a bit more to do in this story, and Rickman steals every scene he's in. He is the master of the dramatic pause between words

Another character that has more to do this time around is Draco Malfoy, and Tom Felton really stepped up to the plate here. He's not just the scowling bully that we've grown to hate. He's a complex, conflicted character here. As far as the rest of the cast goes, all of the British veterans are as good as ever, even if they don't get enough screen time. One actress that makes the most of her screen time is Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange. She is absolutely wicked and, as the British like to say, barking! Everybody pretty much shines here, except for Bonnie Wright who plays Ginny. She just seems kind of stiff to me. And it doesn't help in her scenes with Harry when the two of them realize they're falling for each other. There's really no chemistry between the two. Oh before I forget, I have to give honorable mention to the two kids who played younger Voldemort. The youngest Voldemort was played by Ralph Fiennes' nephew, and the resemblance is there. Kid was creeeeepy! But even better was the guy who played teenage Voldemort. He was damn perfect and creepy as well.

As I said earlier, this is really the best made film in the series. Before this, it was a toss up between Prisoner of Azkaban and Order of the Phoenix, but this one takes the cake. The film looks amazing, and the camera work is awesome. The film also does a really good job of building the suspense and there's a sense throughout that something really bad is going to happen eventually. It's partly because Tom Felton does such a good job with Draco, who is constantly in the Room of Requirement fiddling with a vanishing cabinet. For those unaware as to what happens, I'll stop right there.

For those of you who have read the book, I'll tell you this. The Cave scene is spectacular, and Michael Gambon pulls it off. Gambon is the best he's ever been in the series in this movie. Perfect timing I should say. Of course, whether you've read the book or not, I'm sure you've heard that there is the death of a very major character in this one. For the sake of those who don't know (there can't be many of you), I won't say any spoilers. It pretty much happens as it does in the book, but there are a few changes that will irk a few book purists. I understood why the director decided to shoot it that way, so I kind of appreciated it actually. Different doesn't mean bad, and this IS an adaptation, not a literal translation, so the whiners can get over it. While the actual death doesn't translate as well from book to screen as one might've liked, the build up and part right before is so good and so well done. It's really great.

When the credits roll, if you're like me, then you're ready to see the Deathly Hallows already. I can't wait. Part 1 is coming out November 2010, which seems like a long time away, but it'll be here sooner than we think. The Half-Blood Prince was a great movie with great performances. It did a really good job of mixing the lighter, comedic elements of the story with the darker and more serious ones. Overall, this is the most complete, best paced, best acted, and best looking Potter yet.

Rating: 9/10