BY COLIN ENQUIST
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the 6th film in the Harry Potter series. I am just going to assume you have heard it is adapted from the J.K. Rowling novel of the same name! This sequel is directed by David Yates, the director of the fifth film as well. Steve Kloves, who wrote the first four films, has returned to script yet again. The usual cast of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter and many, many others return to their usual characters. Jim Broadbent is the newest cast member as Professor Horace Slughorn. After finding a mysterious book with the inscription “property of the Half-Blood Prince” inside, Harry begin to learn more about Lord Voldemort and his dark past.Right from the beginning of the film, Yates does not even give you false hope that this is going to end well. The opening credits bring you into the darkness and never let go of you until the end credits roll. Albeit there are a few flashes when brief happiness in splashed across the screen, only to be taken away rather quickly.
The opening sequence where the Death Eaters travel through and tear up London was a demonstration that showed how Yates makes excellent choices for his camera angles. Yates clearly has a handle on how Hogwarts and the rest of the Harry Potter world should look. The visuals effects of this film are utterly breathtaking. Not to mention the superb cinematography thanks to Bruno Delbonnel. The improvement of acting is easily noticeable and makes this film far superior to the other Harry Potter films in that aspect.
Mainly failings are hanging with this film though as all the character development for minor characters in the first 5 films is just completely forgotten about with a few minor characters barely even seeing screen time. One of, if not the biggest, moments in all the Harry Potter films was utterly wasted. I could not believe that once it happened it was just brushed over, almost like it never actually happened. We also are given a faceless enemy in Lord Voldemort, who is not heard from for the entire 153 minute film. Making you wonder who the enemy really was in this film.
Lacking the story build up for whatever happened next caused this film, which was slow moving in the first place, to burn slowly right until the end. The inconsistent narrative hurts the film entirely more than anything has in all the other Harry Potter films. Sadly this film feels like a complete set up for the final foray. I guess I will be waiting for the next two films patiently, hoping they are much better than this one.
3 out of 5
