Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince
(B or 3/4 stars)
Ladies & Gentlemen, we are BACK for another installment of Harry Potter; this time in 'The Half-Blood Prince', the 6th of 8 movie adaptations of J.K. Rowling's 7 insanely popular novels. David Yates is also back to direct after having botched-up The Order of the Phoenix. Does he do a better job this time? You'll find out later. As the story begins, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) & his pals, Ron & Hermione (Rupert Grint, Emma Watson), are about to commence their 6th yr. at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft & Wizardry; though it's no longer the safe haven it always had been. With Voldemort tightening his grip on both the Muggle world, the wizard world, & 'The Chosen One', Harry finds his enemies are becoming closer, & more dangerous than ever.
After Harry discovers a potions book mysteriously marked 'property of the Half-Blood Prince', Headmaster Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), shows him a selection of key memories about Voldemort's past in a device called a pensieve. But there's a huge problem: one of the memories, including Prof. Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) discussing black magic, has been altered. Dumbledore obligates Harry with the task of befriending Slughorn & learning the truth of said memory; because it will, in all likelihood, contain a key to how Voldemort can be defeated for good. All the while, Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton, looking eerily like a young Jonathan Pryce) seeks revenge against Harry & Dumbledore for sending his father to Azkaban prison. The ambiguous Prof. Snape (Alan Rickman) binds himself by an unbreakable vow to Voldemort's Death Eaters (including a maniacal Bellatrix Lestrange played by Helena Bonham Carter).
And while all this dark, serious stuff is going on, Harry has some other fish to fry ... his hormones. Not only is he fighting a growing attraction for Ron's sister, Ginny (Bonnie Wright), but he's in the middle of an ongoing mixed bag of teen angsty emotions involving Ron & Hermione. Ron & Lavender (Jessie Cave) begin a courtship, & Hermione gets jealous. Such are the lives of every 16 & 17 yr. old at Hogwarts. Everyone is snogging (kissing). Love is in the air. But malice is also in the air. Who will make it out unscathed? One thing is for sure, the lives of everyone involved, & the inhabitants at Hogwarts will never be the same.
I wondered earlier if David Yates did a better job directing on this outing. My answer: Mostly. I liked his 'HP & the Half-Blood Prince'. I love getting lost in the Hogwarts world. It's hypnotizing (though, more so in past films). Our 3 main child actors have grown up & improved in leaps & bounds. Tom Felton really impressed me in his creepy, tortured depiction of Draco, a young man who's as evil as he is vulnerable; & burdened with too much expectation on his thin shoulders. Alan Rickman continues to rattle me with his domineering baritone & macabre line deliveries. I just wish Snape wasn't so underwritten, here. Michael Gambon finally showed me how effective & nuanced he can be as Dumbledore. And Jim Broadbent is most impressive as the amiable, but worrisome Slughorn; a man who's inwardly sad & regretful of his troubled past. Bruno Delbonnel's cinematography is absolutely wondrous; using great color compositions, interesting lighting, & unique angles. The production values are as rich as ever. The sound design is fantastic. And the visual effects? Spectacular, everywhere you look. i.e., the use of them in a cave near the end of the film is just awesome. The acting in this scene is great, & the visuals compliment the acting immensely.
So, what's my problem? Well, there are 2 story threads to pick-apart here: one involves the Dumbledore/Harry working relationship in pursuit of Voldemort's origin. And the other thread involves the budding romances at Hogwarts. While I really loved 'moments' throughout the film, there is a certain lack of dramatic structure (and heft) given to these 2 threads; both individually & as a cohesive whole. Another issue, I feel like Harry & Ginny have minimal chemistry onscreen. It needs some tinkering. And lastly, shouldn't that climax have been the most resoundingly emotional scene of the 6 film series, & not treated as just some perfunctory incident? It reminds me of the last film's mishandling of Sirius. The climax is sad (no brainer), but I was neither surprised, nor moved to tears.
The acting & visuals in this Potter film are better than ever. The best. But because the last few books are so long & so dense in plot/subplots, it's getting difficult to translate that exposition into the film medium. Any lengthy book is going to be trimmed for a movie. But for purposes on 'enjoying' this 6th film, certain scenes seemed a bit off in character development & pacing (due to those cuts, & even some additions). I sometimes wondered ... 'Hi, who are you?' 'Why is that being said?' 'What's the significance of that?', etc. By the end of the 8th film, looking back on the franchise as a whole, I think this film will look even better in hindsight. There's moodiness, humor, & sophistication. But as it is now (and as a movie fan), this simply is not a superb stand alone film. Is it good? Yes, very good. I can't wait to re-watch it & immerse myself all over again. But I think you'll be hard-pressed to find many fans who'd call this movie "awesome".
After Harry discovers a potions book mysteriously marked 'property of the Half-Blood Prince', Headmaster Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), shows him a selection of key memories about Voldemort's past in a device called a pensieve. But there's a huge problem: one of the memories, including Prof. Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) discussing black magic, has been altered. Dumbledore obligates Harry with the task of befriending Slughorn & learning the truth of said memory; because it will, in all likelihood, contain a key to how Voldemort can be defeated for good. All the while, Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton, looking eerily like a young Jonathan Pryce) seeks revenge against Harry & Dumbledore for sending his father to Azkaban prison. The ambiguous Prof. Snape (Alan Rickman) binds himself by an unbreakable vow to Voldemort's Death Eaters (including a maniacal Bellatrix Lestrange played by Helena Bonham Carter).
And while all this dark, serious stuff is going on, Harry has some other fish to fry ... his hormones. Not only is he fighting a growing attraction for Ron's sister, Ginny (Bonnie Wright), but he's in the middle of an ongoing mixed bag of teen angsty emotions involving Ron & Hermione. Ron & Lavender (Jessie Cave) begin a courtship, & Hermione gets jealous. Such are the lives of every 16 & 17 yr. old at Hogwarts. Everyone is snogging (kissing). Love is in the air. But malice is also in the air. Who will make it out unscathed? One thing is for sure, the lives of everyone involved, & the inhabitants at Hogwarts will never be the same.
I wondered earlier if David Yates did a better job directing on this outing. My answer: Mostly. I liked his 'HP & the Half-Blood Prince'. I love getting lost in the Hogwarts world. It's hypnotizing (though, more so in past films). Our 3 main child actors have grown up & improved in leaps & bounds. Tom Felton really impressed me in his creepy, tortured depiction of Draco, a young man who's as evil as he is vulnerable; & burdened with too much expectation on his thin shoulders. Alan Rickman continues to rattle me with his domineering baritone & macabre line deliveries. I just wish Snape wasn't so underwritten, here. Michael Gambon finally showed me how effective & nuanced he can be as Dumbledore. And Jim Broadbent is most impressive as the amiable, but worrisome Slughorn; a man who's inwardly sad & regretful of his troubled past. Bruno Delbonnel's cinematography is absolutely wondrous; using great color compositions, interesting lighting, & unique angles. The production values are as rich as ever. The sound design is fantastic. And the visual effects? Spectacular, everywhere you look. i.e., the use of them in a cave near the end of the film is just awesome. The acting in this scene is great, & the visuals compliment the acting immensely.
So, what's my problem? Well, there are 2 story threads to pick-apart here: one involves the Dumbledore/Harry working relationship in pursuit of Voldemort's origin. And the other thread involves the budding romances at Hogwarts. While I really loved 'moments' throughout the film, there is a certain lack of dramatic structure (and heft) given to these 2 threads; both individually & as a cohesive whole. Another issue, I feel like Harry & Ginny have minimal chemistry onscreen. It needs some tinkering. And lastly, shouldn't that climax have been the most resoundingly emotional scene of the 6 film series, & not treated as just some perfunctory incident? It reminds me of the last film's mishandling of Sirius. The climax is sad (no brainer), but I was neither surprised, nor moved to tears.
The acting & visuals in this Potter film are better than ever. The best. But because the last few books are so long & so dense in plot/subplots, it's getting difficult to translate that exposition into the film medium. Any lengthy book is going to be trimmed for a movie. But for purposes on 'enjoying' this 6th film, certain scenes seemed a bit off in character development & pacing (due to those cuts, & even some additions). I sometimes wondered ... 'Hi, who are you?' 'Why is that being said?' 'What's the significance of that?', etc. By the end of the 8th film, looking back on the franchise as a whole, I think this film will look even better in hindsight. There's moodiness, humor, & sophistication. But as it is now (and as a movie fan), this simply is not a superb stand alone film. Is it good? Yes, very good. I can't wait to re-watch it & immerse myself all over again. But I think you'll be hard-pressed to find many fans who'd call this movie "awesome".