Review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) by Inaneswine — 14 Nov 2017

Half Blood Prince is the darkest of all Harry Potter films - quite literally. The grading effect applied to almost every single shot give the film an almost sepia tone, making the film look like the sets were illuminated solely by candles. However, given that this sixth instalment of the franchise is the most emotionally painful to go through, it works.

Characters who have previously hovered mainly in the background finally take centre-stage. Tom Felton shows us a side to Malfoy - and himself - we never thought existed, and some of the finest work in Alan Rickman's career can be seen in this film. Finally, with regards to Dumbledore, one wonders how Richard Harris would have approached the material had he survived to the sixth film. His take on the character in the first two instalments is decidedly different to Gambon's in subsequent films. Nonetheless, Gambon certainly owns the part in this one, and there can be no doubt that he truly is Dumbledore.

Alongside the emotionally weighty scenes is the franchise's trademark charming humour - supplied predominantly by Grint, Lynch and newcomers Jim Broadbent and Jessie Cave. The action scenes are very well shot, and the dark scenes are truly terrifying. After the final scene, you will be dying to find out what happens next.