A scene from 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'. Courtesy Warner Bros.
When I saw Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first film in the Potter series, I felt the same feeling of awe as when I saw The Wizard of Oz for the first time. It was a magical experience (as far as movie-going is concerned) and it hooked me. Eight years and five sequels later and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince brought that feeling out again. It’s hands down the best Potter film since the first. I loved it!
From the opening you can tell this isn’t your typical Potter film. It’s modern day London and the Death Eaters are wrecking havoc on Muggles (people of the non-wizard type). They trash some apartments, streets and destroy the Millennium Bridge. From there we see Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) being hit on by a waitress in a diner. He arranges a date with her, checks his breath and fixes his hair. Young Harry is all grown up. Unfortunately before he can go on his date Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) shows up to take Harry on a time travel show-and-tell and of course a trip back to Hogwarts.
This opening is very telling of what you can expect for the rest of the film. In an instant it can go from fun to dark and is what really sets Half-Blood Prince apart from the previous films. It’s a mix of American Pie and An American Werewolf in London. By far the funniest Potter film and yet it has a tension about it that makes it very, very eerie at times.
The characters have changed and matured over the six films. Their hormones are running wild, they drink alcohol and refer to “snogging”. The actors have grown too. Radcliffe is becoming quite the dramatic thespian (and is still charming as ever) while Emma Watson (Hermione) and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) really show off their comedic chops (both seem to be studying Buster Keaton when it comes to physical gags). With the addition of Jim Broadbent as Professor Slughorn and the return of Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall), Alan Rickman (Professor Snape) and Gambon (Dumbledore) this could be one of the best British ensemble casts since Gosford Park (in which Smith and Gambon both star in).
As with all Potter films the effects are top notch. And even though Half-Blood Prince has very few battle scenes (minus the one with fire and crazy creatures crawling out of the water in a very Lord of the Rings-type moment) it’s the little touches that excite me most (I still love how the newspapers have moving photos). With the introduction of time travel we get an awesome smokey look when the place they’re traveling to builds out. When Dumbledore appears in the beginning he’s standing in front of perfume ad that reads “Divine Magic” (which could be stab at Emma Watson’s Chanel campaign). It’s these little things that make me cherish the Potter franchise more than any other.
The only problem I found with this one (and it’s minor) is Tom Felton’s portrayal of Draco Malfoy. He’s never on-screen enough to build his character out of the two-dimensional angry attitude he walks around with. Felton is a fine actor and it would be great to see him build Malfoy into a better character over the next two films (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows is being split into two parts).
I might do something I never do and go see this one a few more times in the theatre. If you’re a fan of the other movies you will not be disappointed and just might have a new favourite.
**** out of 5 stars
Rated PG-13
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Tom Felton
Directed by: David Yates
Official Site IMDb
