Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince (12A)
Posted by Guest Writer on Mon, 27 Jul 2009.
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Michael Gambon, Dave Legeno, Jim Broadbent, Geraldine Somerville, Bonnie Wright, Julie Walters, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Helen McCrory, Timothy Spall, Alan Rickman, Oliver Phelps
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is the penultimate book in J.K Rowling’s series, but not in the films. No, the final book has (rather lucratively and wisely) been split into two films. Primarily targeting fans of the book, the film also reaches out to the cinema goers who have followed the ‘Potter Empire’ when it has previously hit our screens. Unfortunately though, this is not one to watch if you’re new to the franchise. The film makes no attempt at filling you in on background story and I suspect you will probably be lost – of course though with a book as long as this one this is quite a logical decision, with the film stretching in at 2 and a half hours running time as it is.
The film follows the three usual suspects, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermionie Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), as they find themselves in yet more trouble. At a difficult time for the Wizarding world, the young wizards and all the regular chums are back at Hogwarts attempting to continue their studies. Harry finds a new love for potions as he discovers a Potions book that has the scrawlings of a potion genius who pens himself ‘The Half Blood Prince’. Harry is given the mysterious task by Dumbledore (Michael Gambon, good playing up the increasing mystery of Dumbledore in this film) of convincing the new potions teacher Professor Slughorn (amusingly quirky performance from Jim Broadbent) to confess his true memory that could unravel the true horrific power behind Voldemort. We see more of Voldemort as a child, and these scenes are particularly chilling.
The film is action packed and fast paced, if you blink you might just have missed the end of the first term, blink again and it’s Christmas… in fact we barely see the character’s at school at all! These problems and others are faced by any book to film conversion – the cutting out of details. Many complaints have appeared from avid fans about missing key moments from the book, whilst other issues lie with the apparent playing down of other major events. My major grudge was that the main revelation that the film’s title revolves around seems almost insignificant – when we as the audience find out the true identity of the Half Blood Prince it’s almost irrelevant. Overall I left the cinema feeling like a lot was missing from the book, but I couldn’t place what. Having said that though, in certain parts I was hit with major de ja vu – almost as if I’d seen particular scenes in my head years ago whilst reading the book so they must be doing something right!
As well as the usual epics that surround a movie of this nature, the story also focuses on young love between a few of the main characters, often overplayed and slightly awkward, it’s generally an amusing portrayal of this difficult stage in the young people’s lives – a nice departure from what otherwise is quite a difficult and dark story.
The acting overall is good, with many of the adults fully shining in their roles, most notably that of the usual suspects, Michael Gambon (Dumbledore), Alan Rickman (Snape) and a new face for this film Broadbent as Slughorn, whose quirkiness often provides entertainment. Our young heroes have certainly grown into their acting boots, but at times still seem a little over the top – something of course to be expected from a Summer Blockbuster. They all show lots of promise considering their age but Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy is a surprise delight in this film, fully fleshing out the role of Draco we see more than just the bullying and evil character we’re used to; instead we see a weaker, more helpless side to Draco and at often times I could feel great sympathy for him.
There are some great scenes throughout the film, most notably is a key moment where Harry and Dumbledore travel to find a horcrux from a cave that put the audience on the edge of their seats, goose bumps and all!
Action packed, exciting and chilling but not just that at often times it’s also moving, The Half Blood Prince is an entertaining movie. However, fans of the book may be a little disappointed in the divergences from the book; it generally fairs well as an adaptation – possibly the best film so far. In its own right the film is good – try to look passed the details of the book and see it as a separate entity and you’ll enjoy it more! Unfortunately a problem of seeing a summer movie of this wide audience is just that – the audience. At often times they were inappropriate – swearing in a key and tense scene completely distracted from the film, and at certain points throughout the audience was loud. Of course this isn’t the movie’s fault at all, but I’d suggest going to a later or less busy showing to avoid the distractions that come with a packed film! Fans of the books and followers of the film go now, those who are neither though I’d sit this one out.
By JVickyB
