Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince (movie review)

Going on dates is getting expensive!  I spent $18 for tickets, $20 on a babysitter, and because my wife didn’t eat dinner before the movie $10 on a medium drink and popcorn! That is the LAST time we’ll do movies like that again.

Okay, enough with the rant. Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince (or HPATHBP) broke away from the pack of Potter films with this new entry. The mystery element fast-paced action of past movies both took a back seat to an element that was only touched upon in most of the other movies:  relationships. It was something that both the book and the movie took a chunk of time out to focus on and, for the most part, it worked.

You can tell just by the color palette that this was going to be a different kind of Potter movie. There was a big break between 2 and 3 and now the film series has changed its mood again. Make sense, when you think about it. The story gets darker as we get closer to Voldemort’s takeover, so the movies should do the same.

The cons:

The only problem I have with the way this translated onto film is actually the same problem I had with the last Indiana Jones movie. The lighting was way too soft at some points, so much so, there were times when the characters in a scene looked like they were being ‘touched by an angel’.  And there were one or two points where the colors were so muted you could barely see what was going on (that could’ve been the theater I was in, I don’t know for sure).

The Half-blood Prince was the first book I read before I saw the movie. I guess I was a glutton for punishment, because now I see what all the other fans see (or don’t see) with the differences between the book and the movie.

I can’t believe that movie clocked in at 2 hours and 24 minutes, because it felt like nothing much happened. Maybe it’s because I’ve been so used to seeing quick-cut edited movies like Star Trek and Transformers. Or maybe it’s because of the lack of huge finales like the previous movies had. After all, the big reveal (who the half-blood prince is) was over and done with in one line of dialogue.

There were several things in the book that were left out of the movie that I would have liked to have seen such as the role of Tonks. She had a much bigger part in the book- along with her developing relationship with Lupin. Putting the other memories in there were important, I should think. But, the biggest disappointment was not seeing the funeral at the end. Of course,with all the CGI and extras needed to make the scene work, it would have cost millions of dollars. But, still it would have been nice.

The pros:

There was a surprising amount of humor in this one.  Ron was funny (like the scene where he sits between Harry and Ginny, totally clueless). But, Luna Lovegood is quickly becoming my favorite on-screen side characters. She’s always a surprise, even when I know what she’s going to say.

Professor Slughorn was also good.  I always pictured him as being gullible but having the gift of gab, the latter of which he lacked in the movie. But, he made up for it with charm. He made you believe he was sorry he ever confided with Tom Riddle.

Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix LeStrange was great as usual, making you feel guilty for liking her character.  She looks like she’s having too much fun being bad.

The Verdict:

Many people say that the odd-numbered Indina Jones movies are the best ones. I think this is certainly the case with Potter. Movies 1, 3, and 5 are my favorites. And while this movie certainly didn’t disappoint, it just goes to show that it was designed mainly to set up The Deathly Hallows. Still, it’s better than most of what’s come out this summer.

Very clean family fun. Great use of mood and style, good acting, and above average (though not great) adaptation of the book.

7 out of 10