Harry Potter and the Half Blood Priince
July 17th 2009 11:40
Dir: David Yates
Genre: Fantasy, Action, Drama
Running Time: 153 minutes
There is no doubt about it, this film is breathtaking, the best in the series to date. It is a superb visual spectacle with a wonderfully accessible plot. Without giving too much away, this sixth film in the series has our adolescent heroes returning to a much more sombre Hogwarts. The ongoing terrorist situation has worsened and the Dark Lord Voldemort’s dreaded Death Eaters and minions have been abducting wizards and witches in full view of Muggles. Diagon Alley is fairly deserted with many shops closed down and derelict. The one shop still doing a brisk trade is the one opened by the Weasley Twins.
The events at Hogwarts are interspersed with adolescent love, angst and snogging. Young Malfoy returns to school with his shock of white hair and his smooth black, sexy, Armani suit, having sworn allegiance to Voldemort with the dreaded task of……well you have to see the film to find out what that is.
The script by Steve Kloves is brisk and clever, and pays great respect to Rowling’s work. There are a few new characters, introducing the marvelous Jim Broadbent as Professor Horace Slughorn. The film relies heavily on the familiar, which works wonderfully, but Yates’ directorial approach to the film assumes the audience knows who the characters are and what the whole shindig is about anyway. This is a fairly safe bet, because if you haven’t read the books or seen all the films in this megabucks franchise, then where have you been all this time???
I love how Rowling’s book has been handled so well in this film. Like the previous installments, it does not take the audience to a place where the vagaries of life are abandoned. Rowling’s characters bleed, cry, hurt, do good and bad things, are sometimes deeply flawed but they can also do heroic things, and they die, sometimes horribly, sometimes heroically and sometimes pointlessly – there is more real life in these films than fantasy, truth be told.
When I saw this film, the audience was made up of all ages, from small children not old enough to read the books, to grandparents. This story speaks to the humanity in all of us, of good and evil and the genuine trials of life, of love, hope and friendship and survival. This film is by no means preachy, but you cannot but pay attention to the deep personal qualities in these characters
The film is dark, dark and brooding in a way, which has you yearning for light. The interplay between the characters, the plot and the art direction of the film is exquisite.
The visual effects are all appropriate and not a distracting feature in themselves. We have all come to expect stunning effects with this franchise and we are not disappointed with this installment. Congratulations to the cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel. To use the medium of light to create such darkness requires real talent and skill.
None of the Harry Potter films have done well in terms of awards; there have been nominations, but few podium speeches. This is not because they are not praiseworthy films or devoid of good acting or production, but they sit in a place that, historically, does not do well with awards. Awards committees generally do not like sequels of any kind. These attitudes are changing slowly however; think of Star Wars, Star Trek and Lord of the Rings, for example.
This film is such a wonderful ensemble piece; I think that no role in this film outplays any other. However, I am personally fond of Dame Maggie Smith’s character Professor Minerva McGonagall. I can’t but help recall her performance as Jean Brodie in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” (1969), every time she speaks. Her role in this film is fairly minimal, though. All of these veteran British actors provide gravitas and a depth that few screen performances are able to achieve these days. This is a gritty, British drama of the best kind. If this film does not garner a bevy of performance awards, it would be unforgivable.
Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince is a complete story in itself, but the film also successfully creates an atmosphere of anticipation, of the battles yet to come, which sit just beyond the horizon.
This film is breathtaking, absolutely breathtaking.
Rating 5/5
Genre: Fantasy, Action, Drama
Running Time: 153 minutes
Malfoy. Dressed to Kill.
There is no doubt about it, this film is breathtaking, the best in the series to date. It is a superb visual spectacle with a wonderfully accessible plot. Without giving too much away, this sixth film in the series has our adolescent heroes returning to a much more sombre Hogwarts. The ongoing terrorist situation has worsened and the Dark Lord Voldemort’s dreaded Death Eaters and minions have been abducting wizards and witches in full view of Muggles. Diagon Alley is fairly deserted with many shops closed down and derelict. The one shop still doing a brisk trade is the one opened by the Weasley Twins.
The events at Hogwarts are interspersed with adolescent love, angst and snogging. Young Malfoy returns to school with his shock of white hair and his smooth black, sexy, Armani suit, having sworn allegiance to Voldemort with the dreaded task of……well you have to see the film to find out what that is.
Hogwarts - under attack by Dark Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters
I love how Rowling’s book has been handled so well in this film. Like the previous installments, it does not take the audience to a place where the vagaries of life are abandoned. Rowling’s characters bleed, cry, hurt, do good and bad things, are sometimes deeply flawed but they can also do heroic things, and they die, sometimes horribly, sometimes heroically and sometimes pointlessly – there is more real life in these films than fantasy, truth be told.
When I saw this film, the audience was made up of all ages, from small children not old enough to read the books, to grandparents. This story speaks to the humanity in all of us, of good and evil and the genuine trials of life, of love, hope and friendship and survival. This film is by no means preachy, but you cannot but pay attention to the deep personal qualities in these characters
The film is dark, dark and brooding in a way, which has you yearning for light. The interplay between the characters, the plot and the art direction of the film is exquisite.
The visual effects are all appropriate and not a distracting feature in themselves. We have all come to expect stunning effects with this franchise and we are not disappointed with this installment. Congratulations to the cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel. To use the medium of light to create such darkness requires real talent and skill.
None of the Harry Potter films have done well in terms of awards; there have been nominations, but few podium speeches. This is not because they are not praiseworthy films or devoid of good acting or production, but they sit in a place that, historically, does not do well with awards. Awards committees generally do not like sequels of any kind. These attitudes are changing slowly however; think of Star Wars, Star Trek and Lord of the Rings, for example.
This film is such a wonderful ensemble piece; I think that no role in this film outplays any other. However, I am personally fond of Dame Maggie Smith’s character Professor Minerva McGonagall. I can’t but help recall her performance as Jean Brodie in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” (1969), every time she speaks. Her role in this film is fairly minimal, though. All of these veteran British actors provide gravitas and a depth that few screen performances are able to achieve these days. This is a gritty, British drama of the best kind. If this film does not garner a bevy of performance awards, it would be unforgivable.
Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince is a complete story in itself, but the film also successfully creates an atmosphere of anticipation, of the battles yet to come, which sit just beyond the horizon.
This film is breathtaking, absolutely breathtaking.
Rating 5/5
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