Review: ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’

‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ is a fabulous mixture of extraordinary magic, teen angst, and the beginning of the end to the greatest franchise of the century.

It opens with our wizard friend, Harry, dealing with the murder of his godfather, Sirius Black. The dreaded Death-Eaters are massing and a final battle between good and evil is looming. Neither the Muggle World or Hogwarts are safe. Lucius Malfoy has been sent to Azkaban prison, leaving his son, Draco, to do the bidding of Lord Voldemort.  Draco’s been put in  the hands of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor, Professor Severus Snape (Alan Rickman),  who’s made an “Unbreakable Vow” to ensure Draco carry out his marching orders. It’s interesting to watch the dynamics between the two characters. Both torn between loyalties  to the Dark Lord and a gnawing,  guilty conscience eating away at them. Helena Bonham Carter also returns as the deliciously snarling Bellatrix Lestrange.

We’re introduced to the new Professor of Potions, Horace Slughorn, meticulously played by Jim Broadbent. Harry and Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), travel to enlist the aid of the previous instructor. The casting of the two thespians, Gambon and Broadbent, is top notch! Dumbledore relays to Harry that  Slughorn has the key to help them in the ultimate destruction of Lord Voldemort, particularly his knowledge of the 7 Horcruxes. Through his many murders, Voldemort’s soul scattered into these objects – one he keeps  with him, 2 have already been destroyed  and the remaining are up for grabs.

The Hogwarts students have battles at school of a different sort. First, Harry finally gives Draco a good ass-kicking by using a spell from the  Half-Blood Prince’s book. Draco is  badly hurt until Snape swoops in to save the day.  Second, teenage crushes and hormones are barreling through the school leading to the blossoming romances between Ron and Hermione and Harry and Ginny. It’s amazing how far the young actors, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, have come since we first saw them as little children back in November of 2001. My one beef? At times, the romantic subplots of these two couples overshadow the film with too much ‘Twilight’ and not enough Quidditch, battles, creatures,  and, dare I say, excitement.  The near-absence  of  these usual Harry Potter themes,  make the pacing slow and drawn out.

Die-hard fans will certainly notice the divergence  taken by the filmmakers with the ending. The Battle  at the Astronomy Tower, the true  identity  of the Half-Blood Prince, and the death of Hogwarts beloved Dumbledore  still come to the same conclusion.  However, it was gut-wrenching nonetheless  to witness the sacrifice of Albus Dumbledore for “The Chosen One.” I was awashed  by a feeling of helplessness at the death of Harry’s other father. Author J.K. Rowling’s constant theme throughout her series, sacrifice and the death of a parent, was never more strongly felt than with the direction of David Yates’s collective raising of the school’s wands in salute to their fallen headmaster. Just another in a slew of touching reminders of what makes these books so endearing.

The CGI, cinematography,  and sound-mixing  permeates the screen and  once again sets a foreboding and ominous mood that Harry and his friends are in for some dark times ahead. ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ is a complete, very fulfilling sixth chapter to a franchise that, like a vintage of “pumpkin juice” just keeps getting better with age.