Director: David Yates (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)Cast: Daniel Radcliffe (December Boys), Rupert Grint (Thunderpants, Driving Lessons), Emma Watson (The Tale of Despereaux), Michael Gambon (The Good Shepherd, Sleepy Hallow), Alan Rickman (Die Hard, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), Maggie Smith (California Suite, Gosford Park), Robbie Coltrane (The World Is Not Enough, Cracker), David Thewlis (Kingdom of Heaven, Dragonheart), Evana Lynch, Helena Bonham Carter (Sweeney Todd, Fight Club), Jim Broadbent (Iris, Hot Fuzz), Timothy Spall (Enchanted, A Series of Unfortunate Events), Julie Walters (Driving Lessons, Billy Elliot), Warwick Davis (Star Wars, Leprechaun), Tom Felton, Dave Legeno, Bonnie Wright, Jessie Cave, Natalia Tena, Freddie Stroma, Helen McCrory
The Deal: Voldemort's grip is tightening, striking fear into the muggle and wizarding world alike. Now in his sixth year, Harry Potter (Radcliffe) discovers a book with extra notes written in it that help him move to the top of his class, but it's previous owner, The Half-Blood Prince, remains a mystery. Dumbledore (Gambon) decides it is necessary for Harry to begin learning more about Voldemort, but needs Harry to get a special memory from the school's new professor, Horace Slughorn (Broadbent). On top of his classes and special assignments for Dumbledore, Harry must also deal with his budding romantic feelings, the growing rift between his two best friends, and his sneaking suspicions that Draco Malfoy (Felton) is now a Death Eater plotting disastrous deeds for Hogwarts.
Thoughts: If, like me, you've read every review you find for the film out of excitement, please disregard what you've read before seeing this. There were four things I kept reading in lots of critic's reviews, four things that were the exact opposite from the film, three I will address now. Many say this is the darkest film yet, but it's not. It's surprisingly hilarious at times and serious in others, but definitely not as dark as the third and fifth film installments. Many say that the quidditch game is too amazing for words, but it's not. It's wonderful having quidditch back, but we only get at most a one minute snippet of the game. Many said the bathroom battle between Harry and Malfoy was horror-film bloody, but it most certainly wasn't. Yes there was blood, but please remember, this is only rated PG. Overall, the things that critics hyped the most were disappointing because they hyped the wrong things. This doesn't mean the scenes weren't good though. The story has all of the magic we love, but an amped of supply of humor mixed in with the very serious storyline developing. There's a big focus on budding teenage romances, and it's as awkward as could ever be hoped.
The fourth thing many say is that Wright and Felton fail to impress in their increased spotlight, but I couldn't disagree more. I've always liked these castings, but up until now, they never had much to do. Felton was wonderful, displaying a wide range of emotions as his character struggled with a massive task with deadly consequences for failure. Wright did a good job as well. Her character's main focus was romance, and she did a good job of subtlety dropping hints here and there. Broadbent plays the biggest new character, and he is absolutely wonderful. He has a wide range of scenes that really allow him the develop the character quite well. Cave also has a fairly big new role, and she is terrifyingly perfect. Not in an evil way, but in the "this girl is bat-shit insane" kind of way. A stage 5 clinger in if there ever was one. Though I usually don't take the time to talk about the main characters much, they do deserve some time again. Gambon is quite good, especially in the film's final half-hour. Watson has developed into a wonderful young actress, and despite having somewhat of a comedic character, Grint does more than just comedy. Lastly, Radcliffe finally displays a full range of believable emotions. It was far and away his best performance yet.
The scene in the cave was one of the best of the Potter franchise. It was very dark, chilling, powerful, emotional, and visually stunning. Watching Harry force feed Dumbledore poison on orders was very sad to watch, and the resulting attack by inferi had half the audiences jumping from their seats. Needless to say, magic was needed to fight their way out, and it doesn't disappoint.
Accuracy: I was so very surprised and happy to find how many little scenes were included from the book that I never expected: Hermione's magical birds attacking Ron, Aragog's funeral, multiple Slughorn parties, love potions, etc. It does the best job following the source material since the first film. It's sad that Dumbledore's funeral was not included, but producers said it was left out to avoid double-covering things with the next films. Really, the only disappointing omission was Hogwarts actually being attacked. Death Eaters casually stroll through the halls to the astronomy tower with no resistance, and it is somewhat anti-climactic. Producers say it would have been too similar to the final battle in the upcoming seventh films, but I call shenanigans. Without the battle, Fenrir Greyback had very little to do in the film. The addition of the corn field scene at the Burrow was actually quite cool for a made-up scene. It fit with the mood and feel of the story. ☆☆☆☆1/2
Overall Verdict: It will take some time and additional viewings before I know where exactly this fits in with the rest, but I can say it will be near or at the top. Capturing much of the book's spirit, the film boast a wonderful amount of humor to compliment the more serious plot developments. Visually, the film is quite beautiful. ☆☆☆☆1/2
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