The Harry Potter saga continues with the sixth installment of the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (PG). With dark forces swirling at Hogwarts and beyond, Dumbeldore (Michael Gambon) increasingly requests the help of Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) to battle the forces of Lord Voldemort. The regular cast of characters including Emma Watson and Rupert Grint are back for this go around. David Yates directs.
Ryan: The Harry Potter series has in my view always been hit and miss. But there’s no question now that the series is on the right track. I thought the previous film, The Order of the Phoenix, which Yates also directed, was the best of the bunch and I would classify the Half Blood Prince as just as good as that movie. The series is getting progressively more ominous but it remains grounded with characters that the audience still cares about--and after six films that's pretty important.
Andy: Once again I approach the Harry Potter series from the point of view of somebody who has never read the books. I understand the appeal of the series, but I’ve never fallen in love with it. Like many who don’t consider themselves big fans of the franchise, my favorite is the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The last one was solid, but not great, and for the most part I’d agree with Ryan that The Half Blood Prince is about on par as the previous movie.
Ryan: The Harry Potter series keeps getting darker and darker but another theme that keeps developing parallel to the good vs. evil narrative is the teen angst of the main characters. Potentially, going down that road could derail the film but it hasn’t and that’s definitely a relief. The filmmakers have done a good job in keeping the melodrama in check and I believe that accurately reflects the tone of the novels (as I'm told).
Andy: While I don’t see anything glaringly wrong with this movie, I will say that I found myself getting very bored at times. This is strange because the dark nature of the movie should lend itself to high suspense, but I still found my mind wondering a bit. Perhaps it’s the over-familiarity of the characters that makes this film less inclined to hold my attention. In any case, if a fantasy story becomes boring, there is potential for a real problem.
Ryan: My biggest issue historically with the Harry Potter franchise has been the epic running times of the films. Thankfully that wasn’t an issue last time around and it’s not an issue this time either. Yates doesn’t have the resume of the some of the other Harry Potter directors (Chris Columbus, Mike Newell, and Alfonso Cuaron) and I’m not sure if Yates “gets” the book any more than the other directors but he’s quite daft in crafting a movie that doesn’t feel like it’s two and half hours long. Accordingly that is much appreciated, helping it earn a B+.
Andy: I do appreciate the scaling back of the length of the Harry Potter movies. I also appreciate the willingness of the franchise to go as dark and gloomy as it has. That said, these movies are not the great films they could be. They still feel derivative of the Lord of the Rings movies, and too much precious film time is still devoted to Quidditch matches. All in all I’d call Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince a little more than adequate, but still not as good as it should be. Final grade: C+.
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