Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, a review by Jon
Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince ***3 out of 5
As Lord Voldemort tightens his grip, Hogwarts is no longer a safe haven. Harry suspects perils within the castle, but Dumbledore is intent upon preparing him for the final battle.I haven’t read the Potter books, but if the screenwriters have stuck to the story, they must have had a nightmare adapting it. In fact, is this the instalment I heard about that people weren’t so keen on? After all, Potter is on his own most of the time, engrossed in a potions book he has found that belonged to the mysterious “Half Blood Prince”, ignoring his friends who have nothing to do but be lovesick and frequently being very angry because of the events of
Order of The Phoenix. And to cap it all, a downbeat ending that, unlike benchmark Dark Episode from the Star Wars saga,
The Empire Strikes Back, promises no defined path for the part. A vague reason, but no path.
I assume all that was stronger in the book, because as if almost afraid to rock the lucrative boat, the film lacks vitality, not helped by a lack of action and being much too over-long. While Daniel Radcliffe was traditionally the weakest of the three kids, he’s grown to be on a par, but here, it’s like he’s holding back on the emotion again. It doesn’t help that the other two are nowhere to be seen in the stories handful of set-pieces. I actually think this had the potential to be one of the most interesting and powerful stories though, if they had gone for it and dialled the scale back to a lonely, hurting and dangerous hero; Harry Potter as if by Martin Scorcese!
Considering this was probably the hardest to make and stick to the tried and tested formula, I think David Yates has done a great job and I hope he has been able to build on it for The Deadly Hallows, because he deserves a blistering sequel. I like contrasts, and he brings a sure-footed elegance to the drama, but proves to still have an eye for scale in the all too few fights. Harry versus Draco in a grim, and eventually bloody, bathroom showdown; defending the Weasley house from Death Eaters; and Dumbledore’s finest moment destroying a legion of... things... about to drown Harry (plus he has just had his hardest moment of the series so far).
As I said, I think Radcliffe did ok, but was probably unsure how to tone the performance and so often appears lost and never sells the seething rage Harry must surely be feeling. Meanwhile Grint and Watson are hilarious with the various easy side-show romance shenanigans. Ron is very funny indeed when he falls victim to a love potion! Of the adults, Rickman once again works wonders with a gift of a character in Snape who keeps us guessing even now, while Gambon makes his mark with an enigmatic turn as Dumbledore. I’d love to have seen what Richard Harris would have done with the role by this point, but the unique relationship between the Professor and Harry is very well-done. Willing, classy support comes from the regular cameos (love Helena Bonham Carter!) and newbie Jim Broadbent.
I can’t think of another franchise to reach this many films, when the plot is essentially the same one throughout and so essential it leads into the next part. Different stories, of course, but the plot stays the same. It’s clearly a curse, because while this film is very well made, it suffers from familiarity and yet wanders in a no man’s land as far as the franchise is concerned. But this is the sixth film and you can excuse them losing the plot once, though it is a shame they didn’t have the confidence because it could have been something different with such room to play with.
I don’t think this is as weak as Chamber of Secrets, but so much more was expected following the truly great last few instalments as the kids had finally come almost to the front-line and now they wandered back again. This is the first film that has made me pay more attention to the books potential though. The Half Blood Prince is simply a thankless instalment to adapt. Too dependant on what came before and what will come, while leaving a big bland hole to fill with an inevitably depressing end. Despite all this negativity, I did really enjoy it, as always. Go figure!
(From Jon's Alphabet Marathon 2010 on July 7th, 2010)
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May 15, 2024, 08:20:59 PM
