Genre: Fantasy, Action
Director: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Bonnie Wright, Tom Felton
Running Time: 153 minutes (plus trailers)
“Once again, I must ask too much of you Harry.”
Before I begin my review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I thought I should give you my thoughts on a) the books and b) the first fives films. I am, unashamedly, a massive fan of the novels. I think J.K. Rowling is a masterful story teller, and along with Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton, her books defined my childhood. The films on the other hand always left me unsatisfied. The first two were just painful – cutesy poo fan service, childish and annoying. Three, four and five gradually improved as the stories (and the child actors) got more mature, but I can honestly say that Order of the Pheonix was the only one that I had really enjoyed. Until now. Fun, funny, exciting and gorgeous to look at, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is in my mind a quantum leap forward for this franchise, and is probably the best movie of the 2009 blockbuster season (sorry Star Trek).
Director David Yates has done a fantastic job putting the film together. Everything looks beautiful, and his directorial style is so graceful that we feel as though we are flowing through the scenes. The actions sequences are terrifically shot – Yates uses a slightly unsteady camera which lends them incredible suspense. The music perfectly enhances the mood of every scene, and from the first moments of the movie the special effects are phenomenal. These films have had a dark style since Alfonso Cuarón directed Prisoner of Azkaban, but this Yates really knocks it up another notch. From kidnap victims with bags over their heads to zombie like creatures emerging from the water, this movie is probably not suitable for kids under about ten years old. Most importantly, despite not having that much of a plot (it's basically romance with a sprinkling of evil machinations), Half-Blood Prince is thoroughly entertaining for all of its two and a half hours. I was never bored, the time flew by, and I would’ve happily stayed put for another hour for a Lord of the Rings style extended cut. Pacing problems have always plagued these movies, but Half-Blood Prince seems to be the exception.
One thing about Half-Blood Prince that surprised me was the quality of the acting. The supporting cast in these films has always been outstanding, made up of the crème de la crème of British actors – Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Kenneth Branagh, Brendan Gleeson, Robbie Coltrane and many others have done magnificent jobs in bringing the franchises secondary characters to life. This film sees another fine addition in Jim Broadbent as Professor Slughorn. However, I was most impressed by the younger cast members. Radcliffe, Grint and Watson have carried these films on their shoulders since they were eleven years old, and when you compare their performances in this film to the first one, it’s remarkable how much they have improved. Radcliffe shines in this movie; there is one scene where he gets, for lack of a better term, high, and he’s absolutely hilarious. If I had to give an award for best performance though, it would go to Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy. The pressure on his character over the course of the film is enormous, and his two big emotion moments are extremely powerful.
I’m not blind to the films flaws, of which there are several. Chief among them would be that both Ron and Hermione are basically one note characters in this movie – the former is there simply for comic relief, and the latter is demoted to “jealous girlfriend” status. Other complaints would be that there are a few editing blips – for example in the final confrontation, Snape appears in one place, and then appears somewhere else almost instantly. Presumably in an attempt to cut down the running time by a few minutes, we lost a little bit of continuity, which was annoying. I was happy to see Dumbledore get a big role in this movie, but his relationship with Harry was sometimes a little bit creepy. Finally, the character of Lavender Brown (played by newcomer Jessie Cave) made me want to shoot myself in the face. I know she’s supposed to be irritating, but Jesus Christ!
Unsurprising, this movie does at points depart dramatically from the novel. Huge chunks have been exorcised, and several key characters including Hagrid, Tonks and Lupin have been reduced to one scene cameos. This happened with all the movies, but I think for the first time, this film includes several scenes that were not present in the book. I’m not sure what the Harry Potter fan community thinks of this, as I try not to read any reactions before I write my review. Personally, I thought the new material made up some of the best parts of the movie – an additional action sequence involved Bellatrix Lestrange (played with wonderful insanity by Helena Bonham Carter) kicked ass, and the bed time conversation between Ron and Harry was hilarious. Draco’s mission, which remained a secret in the book until the very end, is better fleshed out, and the way his progress is shown via two birds is really creative. The only absence I actually noticed was the epic final battle between the students and the Death Eaters. These little aditions make Harry and the Half Blood Prince the first movie in the franchise that I feel can stand on its own two feet, and although it works better as a companion piece to the novel (much like Watchmen), it does have a life outside of the fandom.
Overall, Half-Blood Prince is the first Harry Potter movie that I as a fan of the books have really loved, which is ironic since in shares the least similarities with the novel. Once again, I’d just like to praise David Yates, who truly has done a terrific job. The movie is entertaining as hell, and it’s going to be really cool to see this directors take on the last book - for those who don’t know, Deathly Hallows is being split into two films, the first of which is set to be released in November of next year. And for the first time, I can’t wait.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is in cinemas now.
Director: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Bonnie Wright, Tom Felton
Running Time: 153 minutes (plus trailers)
“Once again, I must ask too much of you Harry.”
Before I begin my review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I thought I should give you my thoughts on a) the books and b) the first fives films. I am, unashamedly, a massive fan of the novels. I think J.K. Rowling is a masterful story teller, and along with Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton, her books defined my childhood. The films on the other hand always left me unsatisfied. The first two were just painful – cutesy poo fan service, childish and annoying. Three, four and five gradually improved as the stories (and the child actors) got more mature, but I can honestly say that Order of the Pheonix was the only one that I had really enjoyed. Until now. Fun, funny, exciting and gorgeous to look at, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is in my mind a quantum leap forward for this franchise, and is probably the best movie of the 2009 blockbuster season (sorry Star Trek).Director David Yates has done a fantastic job putting the film together. Everything looks beautiful, and his directorial style is so graceful that we feel as though we are flowing through the scenes. The actions sequences are terrifically shot – Yates uses a slightly unsteady camera which lends them incredible suspense. The music perfectly enhances the mood of every scene, and from the first moments of the movie the special effects are phenomenal. These films have had a dark style since Alfonso Cuarón directed Prisoner of Azkaban, but this Yates really knocks it up another notch. From kidnap victims with bags over their heads to zombie like creatures emerging from the water, this movie is probably not suitable for kids under about ten years old. Most importantly, despite not having that much of a plot (it's basically romance with a sprinkling of evil machinations), Half-Blood Prince is thoroughly entertaining for all of its two and a half hours. I was never bored, the time flew by, and I would’ve happily stayed put for another hour for a Lord of the Rings style extended cut. Pacing problems have always plagued these movies, but Half-Blood Prince seems to be the exception.
One thing about Half-Blood Prince that surprised me was the quality of the acting. The supporting cast in these films has always been outstanding, made up of the crème de la crème of British actors – Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Kenneth Branagh, Brendan Gleeson, Robbie Coltrane and many others have done magnificent jobs in bringing the franchises secondary characters to life. This film sees another fine addition in Jim Broadbent as Professor Slughorn. However, I was most impressed by the younger cast members. Radcliffe, Grint and Watson have carried these films on their shoulders since they were eleven years old, and when you compare their performances in this film to the first one, it’s remarkable how much they have improved. Radcliffe shines in this movie; there is one scene where he gets, for lack of a better term, high, and he’s absolutely hilarious. If I had to give an award for best performance though, it would go to Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy. The pressure on his character over the course of the film is enormous, and his two big emotion moments are extremely powerful.I’m not blind to the films flaws, of which there are several. Chief among them would be that both Ron and Hermione are basically one note characters in this movie – the former is there simply for comic relief, and the latter is demoted to “jealous girlfriend” status. Other complaints would be that there are a few editing blips – for example in the final confrontation, Snape appears in one place, and then appears somewhere else almost instantly. Presumably in an attempt to cut down the running time by a few minutes, we lost a little bit of continuity, which was annoying. I was happy to see Dumbledore get a big role in this movie, but his relationship with Harry was sometimes a little bit creepy. Finally, the character of Lavender Brown (played by newcomer Jessie Cave) made me want to shoot myself in the face. I know she’s supposed to be irritating, but Jesus Christ!
Unsurprising, this movie does at points depart dramatically from the novel. Huge chunks have been exorcised, and several key characters including Hagrid, Tonks and Lupin have been reduced to one scene cameos. This happened with all the movies, but I think for the first time, this film includes several scenes that were not present in the book. I’m not sure what the Harry Potter fan community thinks of this, as I try not to read any reactions before I write my review. Personally, I thought the new material made up some of the best parts of the movie – an additional action sequence involved Bellatrix Lestrange (played with wonderful insanity by Helena Bonham Carter) kicked ass, and the bed time conversation between Ron and Harry was hilarious. Draco’s mission, which remained a secret in the book until the very end, is better fleshed out, and the way his progress is shown via two birds is really creative. The only absence I actually noticed was the epic final battle between the students and the Death Eaters. These little aditions make Harry and the Half Blood Prince the first movie in the franchise that I feel can stand on its own two feet, and although it works better as a companion piece to the novel (much like Watchmen), it does have a life outside of the fandom.Overall, Half-Blood Prince is the first Harry Potter movie that I as a fan of the books have really loved, which is ironic since in shares the least similarities with the novel. Once again, I’d just like to praise David Yates, who truly has done a terrific job. The movie is entertaining as hell, and it’s going to be really cool to see this directors take on the last book - for those who don’t know, Deathly Hallows is being split into two films, the first of which is set to be released in November of next year. And for the first time, I can’t wait.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is in cinemas now.
