Review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) by Quinn S — 15 Jun 2013

I would sum up Half Blood Prince as a very good movie, but a very poor adaption. If you were expecting the penultimate book in the series adaption to close up the some of the plot holes and reignite stagnant plot points that were neglected in previous installments you will be sorely disappointed. If anything this movie creates more questions than any other installment and left me wondering how the final movie is going to bring several story arcs together with what was left out. That is the majority of the negative.

On the positive side, this is probably the best individual movie in the series with the possible exception of POA. The cinematography is breathtaking even compared to it's stellar predecessors. The young casts acting especially Radcliffe and Grint is greatly improved and old vetsAlan Rickman and Micheal Gambon are given meatier roles which Rickman's Snape relishes and Gambon does better than he has in previous installments...I'm not a huge Gambon fan and make no secret of my preference for Richard Harris' Dumbledore. The real standout performances have to go to Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood and newcomer Horace Slughorn played with relish by Jim Broadbent who really encapsulates this movie for me brilliant when viewed as an individual achievement, but not very loyal to the source material. I realize I'm harping on that, but would like to point out that I'm not doing it to nitpick. I simply was watching the movie when the thought hit me, if I hadn't read the books religiously would I have any clue what was going on? I think the answer would have been no, but I have so maybe that's not a fair assessment for me to make.

This was probably my favorite book in the series and the movie does it justice in mood and intent, but some of the changes just didn't sit well with me. Harry and Ginny's romance seemed a bit forced and contrived at times, the addition of the Burrow scene and the absence of the Battle sequence at the end were strange choices and the big climax and revelations on the identity of the Half Blood Prince lacked punch. Visually pretty, but far from perfect I guess is how I'd have to classify this movie.