***OFFICIAL HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE REVIEW***
by Bouncing Wolf
The amazing ability of the Harry Potter world to charm those who witness it is beyond any magic featured in the series. Watching the trio wander around in the walls of Hogwarts is like putting on a familiar magical cloak, that though not invisible, gives one the feeling of comfort. Perhaps it is because as I grew up listening to Britney Spears and Black Eyed Peas music, watching Law and Order late at night, and watching SpongeBob I also grew up watching Harry Potter. What it was that fascinated me so much as to lure to read the books, I don't know. But as we watched Harry get his scar, get bitten by the Basilisk, travel back in time, witness the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and struggle in agony as he read the mind of the Dark Lord, we not only witnessed these exciting events but we also watched the progression of some acting that before may not have been so talented but now has one heck of a value.
We watched Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, and the other fellow younger actors of the Harry Potter series develop their acting skills. We watched the older actors, Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Magy Smith, Gary Oldman, Robbie Coltrane, and the other middle aged cast sink more and more into their roles. And of course, we need not exclude the minor yet extremely important roles, like my preference, Bellatrix Lestrange, beautifully portrayed in the Order of the Phoenix and the Half-Blood Prince by Helena Bonham Carter. There was Quirrel from the Sorcerers Stone. We all remember Dobby and Lockheart from the Chamber of Secrets, Lupin and Wormtail from the Prisoner of Askaban, Alastor Moody from the Goblet of Fire, and another one of my favorites, Professor Umbridge. It is how Harry Potter can uniquely combine these actors and characters and plot and settings and make one big fantastic cinematic world that breath-takingly illustrates the even more fantastic world that J.K. Rowling created.
Yet this is not a review of the Sorcerer's Stone, nor the Chamber of Secrets, nor the Prisoner of Askaban, Goblet of Fire, nor Order of the Phoenix. It is a review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
The movie opens with a dramatic scene following where the Order of the Phoenix left off. Dumbledore wraps a protective arm around a paparazzi surrounded Harry Potter, as we witness a close up to the glasses of the sad looking Harry. This is when I knew David Yates had knocked this one out the park. Next comes a promising scene of Death Eaters wreaking havoc in London with flabbergasting special effects. This movie, from the very beginning, has a mysterious ambiance that captures the more darker theme of the movie throughout the full two hours. The superstar group of this movie is no longer the Harry Ron and Hermione trio, but the Harry and Dumbledore duo. The film captures the flourishing relationship of Harry and Dumbledore from teacher and student to friend and friend. This, however, does not remove the limelight from the classic trio, who also take a big part in the film. Daniel Radcliffe progresses immensely in his acting skills that where once appropriate for a middle school play and now grew to a very professional actor. His impeccable timing is key as he brilliantly captures the essence of comedy and mixes it is the seriousness and excitement of the movie. Rupert Grint made the most improvement in the now chick magnet Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson professionally manages to capture her role as a more mature and less nerdy Hermione. Tom Felton also succeeds at playing a Draco Malfoy that is more involved in the central plot than ever before.
In the latest chapter of the franchise, the Wizarding and Muggle worlds both face danger like no other as Lord Voldemort quickly rises up to power. Harry and his classmates at Hogwarts also take the challenge of surviving adolescence as hormones rage across ramparts. Draco Malfoy receives a grim task from the Dark Lord, Snape is revealed to be a Death Eater, and Harry receives help from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince. He receives private lessons with Professor Dumbledore in which they explore Voldemort's past in look for his weakness. This instalment is also definitely the funniest of them all. Newcomer Professor Slughorn aids this more humorous movie and Jim Broadbent offers the best performance of the film. In the end, a tear jerking climax, a flabbergasting battle and a cliffhanger ending leaves you not only satisfied, but hungry for the next installment.
We have gone from the magical Sorcerer's Stone, the mysterious Chamber of Secrets, the shocking Prisoner of Azkaban, the exciting Goblet of Fire, the dramatic Order of the Phoenix, and have gone all the way to the thrilling Half-Blood Prince. We can only guess as to what awaits us next.
This movie is a success. Funny, romantic, exciting, suspenseful, and terrific. It could not be any more clear to me that David Yates NAILED this movie; and that it is the best installment of the series so far. I am once again reminded of why J.K. Rowling is now a millionaire, and how marvelously she managed to create a magical world that pulls readers and viewers in, an effect movie producers cannot buy.
And I am reminded that I have been wearing the magical cloak all this time, a cloak that is permanent, and whose magic never wears off. I am reminded that this is the SIXTH movie, and that it is a billion dollar franchise; and mostly, I am reminded of WHY it is a billion dollar franchise.
I am left counting the days to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and with a simple message for David Yates: Blow me away.
And no doubt, he will.
-Wolfie
3 people took the time to write a comment:
P.S david yates doesn't write the film, so if you're really happy with the script, thats steve kloves.
and I disagree. this one kinda sucked. it wasn't nearly as good as I expected. i didn't like how it was written like a comedy and not A/A.
Wow I loved it. I thought it was genius. Comedy+fantasy+suspence+tragedy+romance+action=awsomeness. Plus, the way I look at it, it wasn't a comedy. It had enough details from the book and excluded the ones that would have made the movie drag. I also like the order in which they put things, like how they put things that werent in the plot line of where Harry was, like as in the Snape and Narcissa thing, the Death Eater attack, and stuff like that. It did not keep the spot light on HArry 24/7, and made the point. It had enough comedy to relief from the darkness, and enough more mature elements that aren't so Sorcerer's Stone. David Yates was the director, and though did not write the script, managed everything. A milestone from the Order of the Phoenix which cut half of the book's meaning, and three milestones away from the Chamber of Secrets, which was just plain dissapointing for me. It did what other movies didnt: it gave variety. The Prisoner of Azkaban was very good, but still concentrated on the main plot line. In my opinion, HBP tops them all.
They also destroyed some important details. Harry never inherited Grimmauld Place, so Kreacher never became loyal to Harry, and the attack on the Burrow was pointless and completely destroyed How Bill and Fleur were going to have to have their wedding, and what about Tonks and Lupin?
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