Review of Harry Potter Six

Half Blood Prince Delivers Drab Follow-Up

Jul 16, 2009 Mckenzie Cassidy

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint star in the newest adaptation of J.K. Rowlings' Harry Potter series. The Half Blood Prince is now in theaters.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Book Six in J.K. Rowling's wizard-boy saga, premiered midnight on July 15, 2009. The film took in $58 million on its opening day, according to Box Office Mojo -- a franchise first -- and a close second to the biggest box office Wednesday ever by Transformers Revenge of the Fallen's $60 million opener.

David Yates directed the Half Blood Prince, and he is working on the last book in the series, The Deathly Hollows, that has been split into two separate films. Yates took over the mega-franchise in 2007 when he directed The Order of the Phoenix.

The Half Blood Prince has all the elements of an entertaining film - carrying the audience through over two hours of mild action, teenage love affairs and magical interludes - yet hardcore fans of the Potter series were left unsatisfied and angry that important aspects of the story were left out.

It's been two years since the last Potter film was released, leaving fans watering at the mouth, but many fans felt it failed to deliver.

Performances by the three main actors - Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Emma Watson as Hermione Granger and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley - were lackluster and consisted of snippets of drab, indifferent dialogue.

Overall the film had an eery emptiness contrary to the other films. On the other hand, the new "tone" may have been a purposeful reinterpretation of the franchise that lets the audience know that the world of Harry Potter will never be the same.

Half Blood Prince Sets Up Final Battle Between Potter and Voldemort

The plot of the Half Blood Prince sets up most of the action for the final book. Harry and Professor Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) work together to examine any past memories related to Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and find a way to defeat him - although Voldemort isn't in the film.

They discover that Voldemort secretly placed his soul into seven items called "horcruxes" to avoid death. In order to stop him they have to track these down and destroy each one.

At the same time, Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), as sinister as ever, is asked by Voldemort to kill Dumbledore while Voldemort's followers, the Deatheaters, are attacking both the magical and non-magical world.

What Important Aspects of The Story Were Left Out?

No book to film adaptation can keep every bit of the story intact, yet screenwriter Steve Kloves left out some important information.

The audience discovers "horcruxes," and Harry learns he needs to find each of them to stop Voldemort, but no information is presented on how he will find them, where he will go or how they can be destroyed.

Dumbledore's funeral was also taken out of the film and one of Hogwart's epic battles in the end of the Half Blood Prince was also left out. Furthermore, a new villain named Fenrir Greyback is in many scenes but without any backstory or reason for his presence.

As for the charming characters that have been a staple of the last five movies, they are no where to be found. And if they do make an appearance it is for a brief couple of minutes.

Enjoyable rating: 6 out of 10

Running time: 153 minutes

MPAA Rating: Rated PG for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality.

Cast:

• Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter
• Rupert Grint as Ron Weasely
• Emma Watson as Hermoine Granger
• Michael Gambon as Dumbledore
• Alan Rickman as Professor Snape

If you enjoy "Half Blood Prince" you'll also like: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix or Goblet of Fire.

The copyright of the article Review of Harry Potter Six in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Films is owned by Mckenzie Cassidy. Permission to republish Review of Harry Potter Six in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

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Comments

Aug 30, 2009 2:50 PM

Guest :

I'm a bit late to commenting on this article, but in the actual Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Book, Hermione cried over Ron, so it's within her character....

Just wanted to put that out there.

Aug 30, 2009 9:17 PM

Mckenzie Cassidy :

I would agree with what was pointed out. The person that I saw the film with pointed out to me that her behavior was different from the characters in the books, yet recently when I was watching Goblet of Fire I realized that Hermoine was crying over Ron during the ball for the Tri-Wizard Championships. Thanks for pointing it out and reminding me it was incorrect. Thanks.

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