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Thursday 16th July 2009, 22:36
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince review
There'll be a more audible and rambly version of this in the podcast in a few days, but in the spirit of trying to expand the site content, I thought I'd write a review too. What lucky Banterees you are.
This is an odd film on some levels - it's obviously part of the overall Potter arc, continuing on from the previous film, with Voldemort returned and the wizarding world in upheaval. At the same time it suffers from the same problem the 6th book did, namely that by the end of it we're only a tiny bit closer to the final battle - lots of individual events happen, but given the finale looming on the horizon, it feels a bit like dead time while we wait for the end.
That sounds far more negative than I mean it to - this is a thoroughly enjoyable movie, with laughs, scares, and characters we care about. I sat there for 2 and a half hours without a care in the world, but it's only as the credits rolled I thought "plot-wise, couldn't the important bits have been a 10 minute addition to the next film?" Even the title's mostly irrelevant - no-one really cares about its significance anyway, and right at the end it's explained in a fairly throw-away way.
But enough of such cynical musings. This is more character-based than the previous film, which works both for and against it. The climax of Order of the Phoenix was one of the best battles I've seen in a very long time, and there's nothing in this to rival it, but at the same time it doesn't feel like it's lacking action. A significant portion of the film focuses on the various budding and failing relationships at Hogwarts, both natural and love potion-induced. I was slightly concerned that it could degenerate into the angst-ridden teenage level which would bore/irritate an adult audience, but the tone's kept at the perfect level - mostly amusing, but with enough believable heartbreak to keep you interested.
Ron and Hermione are starting to be drawn together, despite Ron attracting the attentions of...someone else, who I'm fairly sure we're never told the name of. She has a certain bunny-boiler aspect to her which comes across nicely though. Harry and Ginny are more aware of each other's feelings, but still with no real resolution just yet. I do wonder if there are plans afoot to film the epilogue that was featured in the final book - I hope so.
I digress. Jim Broadbent's a new addition to the cast, playing the new potions teacher and doing a great job. While Dumbledore features more heavily towards the end, the adults seem to play a smaller part of the movie than they have in the previous films, in some case just having a line or two, but their presence is valued nonetheless. Alan Rickman's of course still a standout as Snape.
I feel I'm skirting around the body of the film, but that's because there is no real body as such - if there's a broad theme it's that we know dark plans are afoot, which finally come to fruition at the end in an unexpected way (well, unexpected if you've not read the books), and we find out a valuable new piece of information or two, but overall it's sort of lightweight. Regardless it's a very entertaining watch - I laughed, jumped at one point, clutched my popcorn, and even welled up a bit. Oh, and the opening sequence is very impressive. So go see it, just be aware that it feels a bit like a stop-off on the way to the big finish.
Blurry Scarlett Johansson pics from Iron Man 2