I am now up to film six in the Harry Potter series titled “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”, and this time, my feelings are really mixed. When I first saw this movie for its opening night back in 2009, I didn’t like it at all. However, unlike “Goblet of Fire”, this film has actually grown on me over the years, and I find myself liking it a little more every time I watch it. As of now, I consider “Half-Blood Prince” to be a good movie in the series ... certainly not great, but definitely good.
Before I talk about the contexts of movie, I do want to say that the opening to this film is awesome, in fact, I think it’s the coolest opening sequence to any of the Harry Potter movies. I love how it starts with quick flashbacks on the events from the last film, then the title shows up in the most epic title screen of the series, and then we're treated to this awesome opening scene with evil apparitions in flight, attacking the city and destroying a bridge. The scene is complete with camera shots zooming through ales, crashing through walls, it’s almost like a simulated theme park ride, and it starts things off on a very high note. Also, the music composed and conducted by Nicholas Hooper is fantastic. He also did a really good job with the music in the last movie “Order of the Phoenix”, but in this film, he really nails the score, making it sound both beautiful and haunting all at once. Regrettably “Order of the Phoenix” and “Half-Blood Prince” are the only Harry Potter movies that involved Nicholas Hooper’s musical talents. Compared to John Williams, Hooper is definitely the next best composer for the series.
Here's the set-up ... dark forces are stirring in the wizard word, and Harry Potter prepares to fight his greatest enemy, and to do so, he needs to learn as much about the evil wizard Voldemort as possible. So with the help of his head master Dumbledore, he explores the dark wizards past in an effort to learn how to defeat him in the present. On the side lines, Harry, along with his best friends attend classes for their sixth year at Hogwarts School, and honestly ... that’s really all that happens in this film. There’s a subplot involving Harries rival Draco, as he’s up to some mysterious task ... a task that he's clearly conflicted about. Professor Snap likewise has secrets of his own that will change his character throughout the series. There are a phew other little things that I’ll go into more detail on, but not much. It’s mostly just Harry and company having a regular, laid back year at school. There’s no mystery that needs to be solved, no curse attacking the castle that needs to be stopped, no magical adventure to embark on, and no enemy that needs to be defeated, at least until the end. Voldemort never even makes an appearance, with the exception of his younger self that’s seen in flashbacks, and by that premise, you can probably tell why my feelings toured this film are mixed.
The down side is that it's largely uneventful, and there are hardly any elements of action or adventure. Harry only learns one vital thing about his enemy over the cores of the film, and when the movie concludes, it just leaves me feeling like there should have been more to it. Now on the plus side, it’s actually kind of refreshing to just have a simple, relaxed year with our hero’s. This is there last year in school, and they certainly won't be having any fun the following year, so this is really our last chance to just have a good time with these characters we’ve grown to enjoy. It’s like a calm before the storm, and in this regard, the films great. While there isn’t much going on in the plot, there are still plenty of fun things happening on screen. I think this movie really nails the friendship between the three main characters, and their simple interactions are wonderful. There’s also a lot of comedy in this movie, more than any other film is the series, and for the most part, it’s actually quite funny, and the actors are clearly having a lot of fun in this film.
Daniel Radcliffe delivers his liveliest performance in the role of Harry Potter yet, and completely steals the show. He’s full of energy, he’s enjoying every second he has on screen, and that fun transcends on to the audience nicely. Draco Malfoy gets a lot more attention in this movie then he has in many of the previous films, and his story arc is surprisingly complex. Well, it feels complex because Tom Felton is incredible in the role, bringing the character to life with natural, nerves energy. The always terrific Jim Broadbent joins the cast as a new potions teacher named Horace Slughorn. This is another character that I really liked, and the scenes he shares with Harry come off as very genuine. However, the most welcome surprise was Michal Gambon in the role of Dumbledore. Now, I’ve complained about his performance in some of my earlier reviews, particularly in regards to “Goblet of Fire”, but he completely redeems himself in this film. Not only does he bring the character to life with charisma and genuine humbleness, but he also has a subtle sense of hummer that was really welcome.
The one thing I still have a lot of reservations with is the new romance between Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley. I wasn’t too pleased with how suddenly Harry broke up with his first girl friend in the last movie, and now the film acts like Harry and Ginny have had some relationship building over the series, when they really haven’t. Sure, Harry rescued her in one of the early films, but they never really shared a single scene together before this film. They never bonded over anything before, they don't have any real chemistry, and their relationship in this film doesn’t amount to much. Nothing ever happens between these two that sticks with me, or makes me want to see more, and when they do interact with one another, the film resorts to typical, romantic teen movie clichés you’ve seen a hundred times before. I have to emphasize ... I really wanted to love this couple, but it just feels like untapped potential. On some general level, it’s pleasant to see them together, and Bonnie Wright is actually a sweet young actress. Unfortunately, the series never makes this relationship anything special, it’s just average, and could have been so much nicer than this.
The tone of the movie is mostly upbeat and pleasant, but the look of the film is completely depressing. Actually, the cinematography is very good, and the sets are really impressive spectacles ... but there’s just no color in this film at all. Everything is shot in this really ugly, murky lighting, and it diminishes the novelty of being submersed in this magical universe. The pacing is likewise hit and miss, as sometimes I feel absorbed in the atmosphere, while other times I just want it to get moving. There really aren’t any note-worthy action scenes in the film, and the movie doesn’t even have much of a climax. There’s a lot of build-up involving a plot to sneak Draco Malfoy’s evil aunt Bellatrix, (who’s played very well again by Helena Bonham Carter), and a small team of Death Eaters into the castle, and while it amounts to something of great consequence, I just didn't feel like there was enough size behind it. Regardless, the death of Dumbledore is handled well, and I do like the scene when everyone disbands the death mark hovering over the school.
Overall, “Half-Blood Prince” is kind of like the black sheep of the Harry Potter series. It's by no-means a terrible movie, as it’s still fun to watch, it’s great to spend time with this cast of characters in a way that’s mostly positive, and the film ultimately leaves me feeling good in the end. It’s just not a film that excites me, nor makes me want to re-watch it again afterwards. It's also less of a magical journey, and feels more like a romantic teen comedy ... which has it's place, but it's not really what I go to Harry Potter for. If you're looking for an instalment that’s either more magical, adventurous, or more action packed, then this probably isn’t the film for you. If a simple, sweet time with these enduring characters is enough for your taste, then this film won’t disappoint.
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