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Review -- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Director: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
Canadian Rating: PG
3.5 stars out of 4 (Very Good)
by Albert Tam
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince contains three significant achievements: 1) David Yates has redeemed himself after the lacklustre Order of the Phoenix, 2) We learn much more about the characters regardless of having 5 films about them, and 3) It continues to establish new wonders and mysteries in what we think is a by now familiar universe.
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint return as Harry, Hermione, and Ron: the three people that have shared ups and downs, lefts and rights, and life and death situations. It is their sixth year at Hogwarts and the rise of Lord Voldemort does not rest easily with them. As the mysterious disappearances in the magical world increase and the suspicions of other students’ extracurricular activities arise (most notably of Draco Malfoy, played by Tom Felton), these teenagers also find themselves battling raging hormones, romance, and a Potions textbook that knows too much information for its own good, authored by yours truly, the mysterious and unknown Half-Blood Prince.
I may receive a stoning of words for my next comment, but the truth is this: the character of Harry Potter is not interesting. He is merely a boy in a situation that is over his head but the appeal of these books and movies is not him, rather the world he resides in and the people he meets. When his jaw drops in awe at the magic in store, we find that we relate to it too because we are experiencing that magic for the first time as well. We care not of his actions but the ramifications of them on the world and people that surround him which, in effect, makes us kind of care about him.
Where Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix seemed to have abandoned that idea and stuck to just Harry’s solitude (which resulted in a relatively pedestrian picture), the Half-Blood Prince returns to the people he knows and the consequences of some of those actions which makes us experience that very awe for the first time again; except that the awe isn’t in the magic, but the trivialities of the human heart and teenage mind.
Those who wish to be given further insight on the evils of Voldemort and his notorious Death Eaters will be disappointed. It is rather a movie that allows us to understand these characters and how they interact which makes it more of a segue and less of a standalone feature. This does not make it a bad film, just an entertaining one and Yates has created a sweet, at times touching, and vividly picturesque film, from the CGI visuals to the trials and tribulations of teen romance.
The returning cast is wonderful as ever and there is a great ease to these performances after 6 films: newcomer Jim Broadbent as Professor Horace Slughorn is particularly charming and infuses some much needed humour to the straight-faced faculty of Hogwarts, and above all and at last, Alan Rickman as Snape finally has lines to work with and contributes the most to the overall plot. Smacking Ron and Harry in the back of the heads and scolding them most of the time was fun, but his much needed depths are finally subtly visible for all to see.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is more of a teen rom-com than anything, but its fun and charms are just a tease and paves way for the impending battle of good and evil that will take place in the Deathly Hallows. The non-readers may find this movie difficult to follow at times, but I imagine with a good memory and a little bit of luck, they’ll still be able to enjoy this feature and watch 2 plus hours go by with the speed and fury of a Quidditch match.
If they can remember what Quidditch is, that is.
Director: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
Canadian Rating: PG
3.5 stars out of 4 (Very Good)
by Albert Tam
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince contains three significant achievements: 1) David Yates has redeemed himself after the lacklustre Order of the Phoenix, 2) We learn much more about the characters regardless of having 5 films about them, and 3) It continues to establish new wonders and mysteries in what we think is a by now familiar universe.
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint return as Harry, Hermione, and Ron: the three people that have shared ups and downs, lefts and rights, and life and death situations. It is their sixth year at Hogwarts and the rise of Lord Voldemort does not rest easily with them. As the mysterious disappearances in the magical world increase and the suspicions of other students’ extracurricular activities arise (most notably of Draco Malfoy, played by Tom Felton), these teenagers also find themselves battling raging hormones, romance, and a Potions textbook that knows too much information for its own good, authored by yours truly, the mysterious and unknown Half-Blood Prince.
I may receive a stoning of words for my next comment, but the truth is this: the character of Harry Potter is not interesting. He is merely a boy in a situation that is over his head but the appeal of these books and movies is not him, rather the world he resides in and the people he meets. When his jaw drops in awe at the magic in store, we find that we relate to it too because we are experiencing that magic for the first time as well. We care not of his actions but the ramifications of them on the world and people that surround him which, in effect, makes us kind of care about him.
Where Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix seemed to have abandoned that idea and stuck to just Harry’s solitude (which resulted in a relatively pedestrian picture), the Half-Blood Prince returns to the people he knows and the consequences of some of those actions which makes us experience that very awe for the first time again; except that the awe isn’t in the magic, but the trivialities of the human heart and teenage mind.
Those who wish to be given further insight on the evils of Voldemort and his notorious Death Eaters will be disappointed. It is rather a movie that allows us to understand these characters and how they interact which makes it more of a segue and less of a standalone feature. This does not make it a bad film, just an entertaining one and Yates has created a sweet, at times touching, and vividly picturesque film, from the CGI visuals to the trials and tribulations of teen romance.
The returning cast is wonderful as ever and there is a great ease to these performances after 6 films: newcomer Jim Broadbent as Professor Horace Slughorn is particularly charming and infuses some much needed humour to the straight-faced faculty of Hogwarts, and above all and at last, Alan Rickman as Snape finally has lines to work with and contributes the most to the overall plot. Smacking Ron and Harry in the back of the heads and scolding them most of the time was fun, but his much needed depths are finally subtly visible for all to see.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is more of a teen rom-com than anything, but its fun and charms are just a tease and paves way for the impending battle of good and evil that will take place in the Deathly Hallows. The non-readers may find this movie difficult to follow at times, but I imagine with a good memory and a little bit of luck, they’ll still be able to enjoy this feature and watch 2 plus hours go by with the speed and fury of a Quidditch match.
If they can remember what Quidditch is, that is.
If I had to rank the films, I'd put it:
1) Goblet of Fire
2) Half-Blood Prince
3) Prisoner of Azkaban
4) Chamber of Secrets
5) Sorceror's Stone
6) Order of the Phoenix
But that's all just me...