Review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) by Michael D — 14 Nov 2016

Much better and more compelling than "The Order of the Phoenix", but not quite on the same level as some of the best Potter films. Although it is exquisitely made, visually stunning, and thoroughly entertaining like the previous installments, to me, "The Half-Blood Prince" ultimately suffers from the tonal inconsistency and the distractingly colorful (or colorless) cinematography.

I do admire how it manages to be both depressingly dark and lighthearted, and I do enjoy all the romance and flirtation stuff between the main characters. Those scenes are quite funny and somewhat relatable.

But whenever it goes back to the main dark adventure, it gets really dark, which I'm not a huge fan of, and I hate the way this film looks. It is still a solid film with some great character moments, but I wish it was a little more subtle, both in terms of performances and craftsmanship.