HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
WARNER BROS
RELEASED 15 July 2009
Or ‘HP6’ as the advertising is tagging it (sounds like a brown sauce to me). The Harry Potter movie franchise will have been on screen for ten years when it all finishes on the 15th July 2011. Eight huge movies in ten years makes it the most profitable franchise in that time period. It’s on course to roughly earn $7 billion worldwide in box office receipts. Bigger than Star Wars, Bond, or Lord of the Rings - arise Sir Harry, the noughties box office champ.
Saying all that, the films have not been the faultless products you might expect for such a cash-cow. Parts one and two were laboured; part three remains the best of the bunch, a classic movie in it’s own right; part four went back to being a bit plodding but with darker elements at play; and part five saw director David Yates take the helm and bring an adult sensibilty to the closing chapters. ‘HP6’ is Yate’s second stab at the boy wizard, and it’s an incredibly confident entry, so confident in fact you could almost be forgiven for thinking this is arthouse fantasy movie rather than a summer blockbuster. It’s talky, slow, romantic, and there’s barely any action. And I loved it!
The film opens with a dark-eater attack on the London ‘wobbly’ bridge, pulling it apart much like people feared when it first opened and the thing started swishing all over the place. This open attack on the ‘muggle’ world puts the fear of god into the wizard fraternity. It seems Voldemort and his followers aren’t content to respect their ‘hidden’ status any longer. Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is still recovering from the loss of his uncle Sirius, and upon his return to Hogwarts, it is clear that heavy security measures are now in place in case of attack. Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) tells Harry he knows how to defeat Voldemort, but it involves finding hidden objects. Dumbledore uses Harry’s celebrity status to lure Professor Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) out of retirement, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, teenage hormones are raging in Hogwarts. Harry likes Ginny (Bonnie Wright), but so does Dean Thomas. And Lavender Brown is all over Ron (Rupert Grainger), much to the annoyance of Romilda Vane and Hermione Grainger (Emma Watson). Only moody and angry Draco Malfoy resists any notions of romance - he’s far too busy in the room of requirement...
As already mentioned, ‘HP6’ isn’t like your average summer blockbuster. Instead of the special effects being the strongest part of the film, here the cast and the script shine, something that seems to be attempting a comeback in in intelligent blockbusters like ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘Star Trek’. The whole film is about what’s being said, rather than what’s blowing up or dying! ‘HP6’ could almost be described as a rom-com, although the dark forces at work keep the laughs from getting too over-powering. There really are some hilarious moments involving Ron’s tangled love-life, and Rupert Grint shows real potential for a career outside of the Potter movies.
As expected, Jim Broadbent’s addition to the cast works terrifically well. From his comic introduction diguised as a piece of front room furniture, he makes every scene he’s in appear effortless. He has his own journey in these two and a half hours, and even more so than new pink terror Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) in ‘HP5’, his character is multi-faceted and develops right until the end.
Most of the regular cast pop up for quick cameos (Maggie Smith, Julie Waters, David Thewlis, Mark Williams, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane) but two main actors finally get something to sink their teeth into here. Alan Rickman as Severus Snape has always been the most fun to watch, and apart from the first movie, his presence has always been far more minor than any film fan would hope for. He finally becomes a major player in ‘HP6’, and even though I still wanted more Rickman, it’s a pleasure to see him get some juicy drama, with the promise of more in the final two movies.
Michael Gambon replaced Richard Harris in the third movie of the series, and even though the poor guy’s dead, I never liked Harris’ Dumbledore. Too cold, authoritarian, and aggressive for me. I’ve always loved Gambon’s interpretation. He has a wonderful warmth first and foremost, and in this movie, he displays that warmth to Harry throughout. We even see him offer comfort to a young Voldemort. This movie feels very much like Dumbledore’s story, and in fact the book does elaborate on his younger life. There isn’t time here, but you’re given enough to realise how important Dumbledore is to Hogwarts and what could happen if he wasn’t around any longer.
To top off the cast, it’s the kids who excel more than ever, and actually surprise. Grint is the comedian, Emma Watson is lovelorn, and Daniel Radcliffe is the young man with the whole world on his shoulders. Tom Felton’s Draco is no longer a one-dimensional bully but a tragic figure that has no freewill or hope for the future. Bonnie Wright’s Ginny has a mature, womanly charm that might just be the thing that Harry is looking for.
I do have one or two issues with the film. The ending is the biggest. There is a big battle in the book which is entirely absent here, a very strange decision considering there is virtually no action in the film (another issue I have but it makes for a different movie because of it). And a huge moment at the end is handled really oddly. Without going into detail, it almost feels inevitable and slightly throwaway, which is really really odd considering the whole movie has been building up to it. The throwaway reveal of the ‘half-blood prince’ is also a really strange choice of tone, like ‘oh, by the way, this is what the title of the movie means. Move on...’
Another score by Nicholas Hooper, who was brought on board last time out, totally blows away the staid John Williams themes that hampered the drama, and Director David Yates composes beautifully framed scenes time and time again. He’s the man tasked with helming the final two films, and it’s apparent from Yates’ ‘Order of the Phoenix’ and ‘Half-Blood Prince’ that the Harry Potter story will finish on a high. It’s even more exciting to see what Radcliffe, Grint and Watson can bring to the finale after their excellent work here.
FOUR OUT OF FIVE