Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Theatrical Reviews, Family Films, Summer Movies
It's a tricky situation -- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a strong entry in the series about the boy wizard, but won't work as a stand-alone film. No background is provided, so audience members must have seen the previous movies or read the J.K. Rowling books or they'll be lost. Fortunately, the movie doesn't assume you've read the sixth book -- there are no gaps in the story that require the novel to fill.
In case you haven't read the book, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) returns to Hogwarts in Half-Blood Prince for his sixth year of study, while Death Eaters terrorize both the magical community and the ordinary Muggle world. Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) trusts Harry with increasingly important tasks in the fight against Voldemort ... and Harry is also learning a lot from an old Potions textbook that contains clever notes from someone self-styled the "Half-Blood Prince." Harry's best friend Ron (Rupert Grint) is taking lessons in Quidditch, self-confidence, and romance -- and why is Hermione (Emma Watson) displeased? Draco lurks in hallways and towers looking pale and conflicted.
That description makes it sound like I'm recounting a teenage soap opera. To be honest, there's a lot of teen romance in a movie that's also about battling the dark forces. The movie takes a more lighthearted attitude than the book in this arena, although Lavender -- who has a crush on Ron -- is cartoonishly oversensitive. Luna, on the other hand, gets some nice moments without resorting to broad humor. The quieter, smaller relationship scenes generally work better than the comic ones, and I especially liked a scene with Harry and Hermione on the stairs, escaping from a trying party.
Screenwriter Steve Kloves, who has adapted most of the Harry Potter books at this point, has neatly pared down and reshaped the novel to fit in a feature film structure and length. Instead of trying to squeeze all the Hogwarts goodness into 2.5 hours, he has cut whole subplots and minor characters so we can focus on the most important elements of the tale. As a fan of the book, I missed Bill and Fleur, wished Neville had something to do, and was sorry not to see Emma Thompson as Professor Trelawney. The house-elves are also gone, and the politics of the Ministry for Magic -- with some of these omissions, it'll take mighty smart scripting to hit certain plot points in the adaptation of the final book.
Kloves and director David Yates also have included a number of short scenes and visual hints to prepare us for certain characters or to set the mood. Harry's early scene in a cafe strikes me as a better key to his current feelings and state of mind than the sequence from the book with the Dursleys. The novel's recurring scenes where the characters read about Death Eater experiences in the paper is replaced by an experience of their own. A quick shot of a "Wanted" poster for Fenrir Greyback provides an introduction to that character for when he appears later.
On the other hand, the film wastes time with Bellatrix Lestrange in Helena Bonham-Carter's excessively over-the-top performance. Other actors can get away with overdramatizing their character somewhat -- Alan Rickman as Snape is addicted to meaningful pauses mid-sentence -- but the characters' warmth or charm wins in the end. Bellatrix is too chaotically crazy to endure for long. Other downsides to the movie include a few wincingly predictable moments -- one climactic scene involves a "shock" moment right out of a bad horror movie, and there's a plummet that looks like it belongs in the Lord of the RIngs films.
Jim Broadbent joins the cast in this film as Professor Slughorn -- it's always delightful to see yet another veteran British character actor appearing in the Harry Potter series. Broadbent's Slughorn is a little less insinuating and power-hungry than the character in the book, and less rotund than I'd imagined the character, but I have no objection to these improvements.
Fans of the book may feel unhappy that some of their favorite parts are changed or omitted. However, as a movie dependent on earlier films in the series, Half-Blood Prince provides a carefully plotted story with plenty of humor to counterbalance the darker moments. Yates, who also directed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, has managed to find the best way to tell the Harry Potter stories effectively on film -- as a tight suspense film that isn't too scary for older kids, with a good dose of humor, Young Love, and charm. I'm not going to compare and rank this film up against the others in the series (better than #4, #3 still best) because I haven't seen some of them in years, but this movie has me looking forward to the final two in the series, and even hoping that some of the seventh book's flaws will vanish in the movie adaptations.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
7-14-2009 @ 11:29PM
bearxor said...
I'm pleased to know that someone else thinks PoA is the best Potter movie. Curaon made the movie magical, while reinventing the potter series and putting his stamp on it that has continued throughout the rest of the series.
I simply can't imagine how dreadful these movies would have been had CC's pristine fake world had been maintained.
On a side note, I'm also happy that Michael Gambon is Dumbledore. I hesitate to use the word because I'm not happy about the circumstance of his getting the role. However, I don't think the Sir R.A. would have been quite up to snuff to play Dumbledore in the third movie forward. He fit well in with Chris Columbus' Potter-verse, but I think the way he played his character would have been out of place from the third movie forward.
Reply
7-15-2009 @ 9:51AM
Eric H said...
I have never seen more wrong things about the Potter series in one sentence, well done.
7-15-2009 @ 11:55AM
Jason said...
I think I can at least understand where he's coming from. For me, the first two movies felt overly fake. I think the third really rooted it in reality.
8-12-2009 @ 8:11AM
beepee said...
ABSOLUTE RUBBISH. Whole parts of the book and central characters missing.
A complete let down.
If there is anyone who hasn't read the books or seen any of the previous movies, I dread to think what they would think of this poor adaptation.
Whether my experience was spoilt by the AC not working and the sound quality about as good as an old 8 track, I'm not sure but was the film almost sepia in colour?
My whole experience was like seeing a poor quality ripped off copy!
7-17-2009 @ 1:10AM
americanogle said...
There's only one legitimate place I've found to watch it, the rest seem like scams :-/ You can see it over here though: http://vostuu.com/watch28015.html
It takes a minute to load but after that it's good to go :)
7-15-2009 @ 1:35AM
DAC said...
How was the new where the wild things trailer before the movie?
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7-15-2009 @ 4:09AM
Fai said...
It wasn't a new trailer, it's the same one that we've seen many times before
7-18-2009 @ 10:46PM
djk said...
that where the wild things are trailer was just plain creepy. it looked as though someone from rob dyrdeks fantasy factory on mtv put on some random costume they found and ran around in a forest. as far as the trailer showed. i did like the book, though.
7-15-2009 @ 3:27AM
Cory B said...
I'll contest to Prisoner of Azkaban being the top movie still! SS and CoS were great imaginative, teaching and whimsical movies, but PoA started with the real "danger" of the Potter series, also it has a great (but tangled if not paying attention) plot that sets up many characters and is told in a vivid and dark way. I agree as well about Goblet of Fire being the worst thus far... and I adored the book! Order of the Phoenix was good, but settled on too much dark and brooding from an over all stand point.
Enough ranting about previous movies though - seeing as how I just, not even half an hour ago stepped out of Half Blood Prince.
The biggest thing about this movie was character growth and emotional situations between teenagers experiencing puppy love. It worked well this time because the actors have finally learned how to act (a big step up from GoF especially) and take a comedic stance on things, as well as being dramatic without "soap opera-ing" the scenes. The final battle scene wasn't quite up to par, but I suppose the next book will have plenty to make up for in the nearly 5 hours total we'll get in the movie experiences.
Over all it was good, maybe a 7.5 out of 10. Still gunning to beat PoA with a 9 of 10 though!
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7-15-2009 @ 1:10PM
Craig said...
Hi
I just came from the HBP and enjoyed it but it left me feeling abit cheated. I don't think that they made enough of the death od one of the central characters. I went from the tower, to the ground, to the kids weeping, to the end. No funera, no white tomb, no nothing. Apart from a picture in the head masters office. I also didn't like the fact that we had no battle scene at Hogwarts. i agree that the final films will cover this detail but i just wanted a bit of wand action and more quidditch. On the whole i thought it was ok but i wouldn't rave about it.
7-19-2009 @ 6:43PM
Marco said...
*****SPOILER ALERT*******
*****SPOILER ALERT*******
honest to god i was pumped to see the final battle in the school with all the death eaters in there fighting students and teachers but the movie cut that out COMPLETELY!! after dumbledore dies they go straight to the woods scene and the prince reveals himself... jeez all this wait to see an epic battle and the best one is when harry and malfoy dual a little
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7-15-2009 @ 1:13PM
Craig said...
I agree. I think that the battle at the end was a major anti climax and glossed over too much. Not enough was made of the death of Dumbledore. Film was a 6 out of 5 for me. Prisoner of Azkaban is still my favourite. I also thought the soundtrack was rubbish. Nothing unique or special. All sounded the same. There was no distinctive tracks that stuck with me. I also thought not enough quidittch.
Bring back John Williams
7-15-2009 @ 4:32PM
Leena said...
I AGREE! I was so disappointed that number one, Harry wasn't stunned by Dumbledore in the tower! It made him look like a wimp! And number two why not the funeral!!! There should have been more tribute to Dumbledore! I really looked forward to the singing and the arrows flying up in the air! For a director who loves to focus on the characters feelings there was nothing to the death scene. Come on they could have had Hagrid crying over his body at least, it would have taken seconds. No real Christmas at all, what's with the house on fire??? I just read the book again it's not in the book. Tonks finds Harry not Luna and Ginny does not take Harry to the Room of Requirement! Why do they make up things there is plenty of material in the book that could have been replaced the unnecessary scenes in the movie!!!
On the positive side, I loved when Ron ate the love portion filled candy that was great, Rupert is a pretty good comedian! I love Hermoine, and the jealousy thing and the party scene was funny. I liked the cave scene not exactly how I imagined it but it was good. Tom did a great job as Draco he really showed his acting skills.
We were with my family and there were very devoted HP fans (including me), mostly college and high school students. Almost everyone was dressed up and so excited for the movie. When the movie was over there were three people who clapped (obviously those who did had not read the book) and everyone else filed out of there very disappointed. The whispers I heard were, "how anti-climatic and where was the fight scene, why wasn't Harry stunned, where were the Dursleys "
To the director, producer and especially writer, I really hope you stick to Book 7. I will not see HBP a second time.
7-15-2009 @ 5:16AM
J. Edgar Hoover said...
I have to disagree with you on 2 points, Bearxor. First, you did say "...Sir R A", and I believe you were referring to Richard Harris. In which case I suppose it would be Sir Richard Harris.
On the other point, I feel Richard Harris was better as Dumbledore. While only in 2 films, he conveyed the image and spectacle the headmaster was supposed to embody.
Dumbledore is supposed to have confidence and not show befuddled confusion, which Micheal Gambon manages to pull off quite well. The confusion part that is. He just doesn't have the same level of confidence and doesn't seem to really understand the role.
But, alas, 'tis a shame that we cannot dig up Richard Harris and invite him back to be the original headmaster.
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7-15-2009 @ 5:52AM
Viral said...
i am in agreement with you... Michael Gambon though a great theatre actor isnt nearly refined enough in the harry potter movies he seems to be runnig around confused and helpless.. dumbledore conjures an image of a knowledgable wise figure... especially in goblet of fire when he pushes harry against a wall it was ridiculous... dumbledore love harry as if he were his own son/grandson he does not attach harry... MG is ridiculous as dumbledore
7-15-2009 @ 5:29AM
Ella said...
You're review is probably the closest I've read to my own opinions of the film. However, although Bellatrix was in it more than she should have been, I think Helena Bonham-Carter's portrayal of her makes the Bellatrix abundance enjoyable, interesting and exciting. I would rather Neville had a few more lines in places that were spent on Bellatrix. The thing I missed the most from the novel was the build up of Lupin and Tonk's relationship. I also thought Tom Felton did a great job in this film, and I was certainly no Tom Felton fan.
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7-16-2009 @ 3:52PM
danmac said...
I am down with Azkaban
Bellatarix is da s**t
big up to Dumbledore
word
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7-15-2009 @ 9:19AM
Curtis G said...
I thought this was good but it was not what I was hoping it would be. The last 30 minutes of the movie was just horrible. It felt rushed and I didn't get a sense of shock or any kind of emotion at the shocker ending. I'm a huge fan of the book so of course I am going to be critical. Anyone think the PG rating hurt the movie? The way they ended the movie took away all suspense, mystery, emotion, theories that you got when reading the book. It's always a different experience from book to movie but you can still have that sense of mystery and leave you thinking maybe he isn't dead?! Where does Snapes allegiance lie and so forth. I have never been so dissatisfied with a ending like I am with this one. What a unimaginative and bland/flat way to end it. The movie was great all around but it makes me terrified to see the 7th movie.
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7-15-2009 @ 9:43AM
Drewbacca said...
*****SPOILER ALERT*******
I was lucky enough to see a special screening of it on Monday, so I've had a couple of days to think about the movie.
While I too was greatly irked that they cut the "battle scene" at the the end, (as Curtis G. stated, the ending did feel rushed), my biggest issue was that they completely omitted the search for The Half Blood Prince!
In the book, Harry and Co. spend a decent amount of time speculating as to who he was, and this was one of the best subplots. But in the movie NAMED "Half-Blood Prince," all you get is Snape saying "yeah......it's me......the Half-Blooded Princey Guy" at the end! (Obviously I'm paraphrasing)
I felt that the movie was quite entertaining, but I can only hope that these key elements are in the Directors Cut of the DVD.
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7-15-2009 @ 4:28PM
kat-w said...
If they don't have a directors cut then this movie will be the biggest dissapointment ever. to true fans of harrry potter this movie was like watching two and a half hours of the middle finger. i saw the twelve o'clock showing last night and i was all pumped to see it. some people say that the sub-plots should be taken out, but those sub-plots prove vital in the final book. as to sticking by the book, this movie has been the worst so far. the whole time i was watching it i still had hope because i was thinking "okay, it will be worth it for the battle at the end." i understand somewhat the movie maker's need to cut out some stuff that may make the movie lag, but since when do they cut out fight scenes in movies?!?! the movie would have been fine if they would have simply kept in the battle at the end......and what the fuck was up with that scene where the burrow burns? how did that effect the story line, in this, or future movies? as to the scene where ginny and harry hide the book.....i don't see how they're going to put in the final movie how harry finds the diadem of ravenclaws. i guess when douche bags write such things they completely forget that they need to set up certain things for movies to come. i hope sooooo much that they don't make such mistakes again. i'm definately not going to get my hopes up again like this for the next ones. PLEASE DON'T ABORT THE NEXT MOVIE LIKE THEY DID THIS ONE!!!!