Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Director: David Yates. Cast: Daniel Radcliff, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Jim Broadbent, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, David Thewlis, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane. 153 min. Rated PG. Fantasy.

I used to be indifferent to the whole Harry Potter concept, but I have to admit the darker the stories become, the more I'm getting involved. This episode is (literally) more than two hours of darkness, both visually and conceptually, to the point of becoming scary at times. The film still suffers from the common problem of all Potter movies: sequences that do not contribute to the story, and can easily be eliminated. Staying away from the books led to a surprise from the tragic ending. Not perfect, but the best Potter movie yet.

Mo says:

2 comments:

  1. Harry potter is one of the series that I can't say I'm indifferent but tell easily : having a same feeling to all parts , i mean mediocre interest along with following actively to the end.And this sense continues to the sixth part which children are going to be grown up, being mature,romantic and gradually enter to the dark adult's world. As you said the dark atmosphere of movie was prominent & scaring. The working of student & teacher together , revealing the history & background of negative character( although it was short) and shocking final scene was good enough to make audience seriously waiting for next(or final?) episode.

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  2. "... mediocre interest along with following actively to the end." I guess you put it better than I did, because that's exactly how I feel watching a Potter film.

    But can you believe I had forgotten I had even written a review on this film, until you reminded me by your post?! This shows how much the movie affected me.

    BTW, apparently the last book ("Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows") will be filmed back-to-back in two episodes. Honestly, I'm looking forward to the series being over - as though its a headache.

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