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While the fifth installment
provided some of the darkest moments seen in the series, Harry Potter
and the Half-Blood Prince displays an even more sinister and morbid
approach to the deadly witchcraft and devious wizardry. But with
that darkness comes an alleviating light found in the romantic mishaps
and jealous tussles between the students. Blending the foreboding
presence of encroaching doom with Quidditch practice, schoolwork,
and blossoming high school romances, the sixth entry in the legacy
of Harry Potter is simultaneously the most mature and the most entertaining,
though the days of playful sorcery and lighthearted misadventures
are long gone.
In the sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
it is dark times indeed. The school itself has become a breeding
ground for danger and deception and the surmounting minions of
the evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) have brought forth destruction
even to the innocents of the outside world of muggles. As a new
potions teacher, Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent), is recruited
for mysterious reasons, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) must contend
with ominous missions from Headmaster Dumbledore (Michael Gambon)
as well as his growing feelings for Ginny Weasly (Bonnie Wright)
and the newfound jealous tension between his best friends Ron
(Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson). |
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If you’re willing
to make the five-movie investment, the sixth Harry Potter film is
well worth the time. Startlingly suspenseful, tenebrous and scarier
than the previous films, with a generously lenient PG rating, the
characters have finally reached the point where their budding relationships
and daunting trials against the dark arts are almost entirely adult.
It’s a new kind of Harry Potter film with a Tim Burtonesque
feel and wondrously foreboding sets and atmospheres (Diagon Alley
now resembles the battered, rain-beaten streets in Sweeney Todd).
Harry always seems to be covered in blood or unconscious, Hogwart’s
security has reached the point of a prison, the spells have turned
to curses, the charms into hexes, and the potions into deadly black
magic. Even the colors appear washed with blackness or drastically
muted. By the end of it all, Harry’s going to need an extra
dose of liquid luck and the audience will need a hearty round of
butterbeer with ginger.
Perhaps most appealing about the series is the opportunity to see a group of children become young adults, and to journey with them in their adventurous maturation. Any one year seems inconsequential compared to the larger picture, the grand scheme of mastering fantastical powers and defeating the many avenues of evil. Along the way there are plenty of chances at humor and lightheartedness, especially in the evolving relationships (such as a spirited snogging-filled love triangle) between Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and newcomer Lavender Brown, as well as several important supporting characters including the many schoolteachers, friends, families and enemies. As the characters become old enough for their interactions and expressions to mean more and for their actions to become more significant, powerful or even fatal, the entertainment is more solid and the story more fulfilling. Even if it plays out like they’re all making it up as they go, the tragedies feel authentic and the leads are genuinely sympathetic. Finally the chemistry, adventure, special effects and fantasy can all be taken seriously. - The Massie Twins
Read the Review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Read the Review of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Read the Review of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Read the Review of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Read the Review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Read the Review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Read the Review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I Read the Review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II
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they chopped out way too much from the book. obviously they can't include everything, but they spent a lot of time on things like Malfoy which weren't as important