Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince Review
by Homer Yen (homeryen88 AT gmail DOT com)July 24th, 2009
"The Half-Blood Prince" Has Half-Hearted Conviction
by Homer Yen
(c) 2009
I like the tagline that you see on the movie posters advertising the sixth Harry Potter movie. "Once again, I must ask too much of you," says the wizened Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) to his star pupil, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe). However, after watching this film, I think that he was warning the audience as much as he was speaking to the boy wizard. At 153 minutes in running time, it is a long movie. Unfortunately, it felt even longer. And, what's worse, after the film ended, it really didn't seem like any significant advancements were made.
If nothing else, the trio of best friends (Potter, Hermoine played by Emma Watson, and Ron played by Rupert Gint) is growing up before our very eyes. They are much more proficient at casting spells, much more proficient at exploring the nooks and crannies of the immense Hogwart's compound, and are much more proficient at the Quidditch competition (one of the visual highlights of the film).
And as they grow, darker times lie ahead. The confrontation between Potter and Lord Voldemort will inevitably come. The stakes have risen; everyone's lives exist within a far more dangerous landscape; and there's heartbreak as affection portents their adolescence.
With every installment, a new teacher comes to Hogwart's to grace us with their eccentricities. And, I was delighted to see the quirky Jim Broadbent on staff as the Potions Master Slughorn. Especially interesting was the Potion of Luck that Harry eventually uses at an opportune time (and that I wished that I could have quaffed prior to entering the theatre).
This sixth chapter is more ominous than the preceding ones. They seem to get darker as the series goes on. This is not just reflected in the story's theme but also in its overall look. Less plentiful are the colorful palettes that define the Quidditch games and the mystical beasts of the land. There were fewer scenes that featured the imaginative inner workings of the school such as the Escher-like staircases that move about from one level to another. Even the grand dining hall has lost some of its luster. Gone are the more innocent and wondrous times as reflected in "The Goblet Fire" (my personal favorite).
The film doesn't really feel like a next-chapter in the Potter series. It's almost the same feeling that I got when I saw the 2nd chapter of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, "The Two Towers". It was nestled between the far superior "The Fellowship of the Rings" and "The Return of the King." I'm glad that we had another opportunity to see Aragon and the gang. But, "The Two Towers" felt unnecessary. So too did this one, even though it was comforting to see all of the Harry Potter castmates again.
The dangerous mission that Dumbledore and Harry finally do go on seemed like a waste of time when the answers that they seek won't really mean anything until we get to the last installments of the franchise. Having said that, I'll be there in line eager to buy my ticket. I won't be tattooing a lighting bolt to my forehead, but as I've watched every installment thus far, I'm not going to give up now, even though the "Half-Blood Prince" disappointed. I think someone waved their magic wand prior to writing this story and incanted the words: "maximous superfluous"!
Grade: C+
S: 1 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 2 out of 3
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