Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is one of the most exciting and engrossing films of the summer. It’s suspenseful, funny, and even heartfelt. This marks the sixth installment and it’s quite possibly the best installment yet in an already impressive franchise.
As Voldemort starts to gain more followers and power, Harry must prepare for what’s to come. Harry and Dumbledore must work together to uncover secrets behind Voldemort’s powers. The only way to find out these secrets they must convince the new potions instructor Professor Horace Slughorn to reveal a dark secret from his past. As Dumbledore prepares Harry for the inevitable battles to come, Harry and his friends must also deal with love. Harry becomes infatuated with Ron’s sister while Ron becomes the center of attention for a crazed love interest. After Harry finally convinces Slughorn to reveal his guilting secret, Dumbledoore and Harry embark on a mission to unfold the mystery behind Voldermot’s immortality.
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The story in a sense is more so a coming of age tale. It focuses on characters who must start accepting their responsibilities. Harry is finally starting to finally flaunt his social status and even feeling the burdens of his destiny. He’s always known that there will be dark times, but now he is actually grasping how truly bad things are going to go for him. There’s also finally the aspect presented that’s problematic for almost everyone: the pressure of sexual tension. The romantic dynamic set up between Ron and Hermione is finally coming to fruition. Their relationship isn’t just played for sight gags any more i.e. accidently grabbing hands and moments of awkward hilarity. It’s more sweet and developed here. Alongside the romance an other story is being told that revolves around Harry and Dumbledore working together. Their friendship becomes deeper this time around since they get more screen time together and more material to work with. As the story progresses it’s as if Dumbledore is teaching him more and more. Dumbledore was always portrayed as a backround character with no genuine impact on the story instead here he actually plays a part. He used to be simply a character gimmick, always showing up to save the day.
David Yates returns to the directing chair and has delivered a vast improvement over his first Potter film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. While his previous effort was an entertaining film and a worthy installment in the series, it felt rushed and got lost in far too many action scenes. Those problems are no longer present. Yates has crafted a beautiful film that takes its time. One thing Yates does perfectly is invoking enough tension to diminish pre-conceptions of the three leads. All the characters actually seem as if they’re in danger, most notably a fantastic attack scene on the Weasley’s house. The actors are also deserve credit for this, but Yates is the one who builds up enough tension to avoid this pre-conception problem. Yates has also crafted the best looking film in the franchise. With the help of the miracle working cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, the film is richly textured and highly detailed. There are shots that are vigorously vibrant that they will undoubtedly stick with anyone.
The acting of course is excellent and there still remains an array of involving characters. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint are still here and they’re progression is astonishing. They purely embody their characters. Over the course of this whole series they’ve become more involving and engaging. This time they are are faced with even more dilemmas and hardship, and there always easy to cheer for. They play the romantic and dramatic scenes perfectly without coming off cheesy. They balance all these comedy, drama, and action wonderfully showing that they are versatile actors.
Another highlight is that many of the side characters, unlike the other sequels, have something to do. Most notably, Alan Rickman’s Professor Snape. Rickman, who has always been fantastic as Snape, contains a more satisfying arc. Rickman often was subjected to playing a one-note joke of a character, but here he no longer faces that burden. Snape’s loyalty to Dumbledore is now shown, he’s got more mystique, and he doesn’t just have to mutter, “Potter!”, a thousand times. Jim Broadbent also delivers a hilarious scene stealing performance as Professor Slughorn. Broadbent has delivered countless number of memorable roles, but here he delivers one of his best. He creates a sympathetic baboon of a character who’s guilt is understandable.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince exhilarating and entertaining film that doesn’t disappointment. The only genuine problem is all the nitpicks that add up.