Trav’s Review: Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince Is Phenomenal

GRADE: A

It’s nearing midnight on Tuesday July 14, 2009. For several hours movie-goers have been pacing the concourse in front of local theaters across the United States waiting to see the latest installment in J.K. Rowling’s beloved Harry Potter franchise. Some of the patrons are dressed in school outfits, some carry wands, most are dressed in true muggle fashion. Nevertheless, each person about to enter their respective cinema has waited an extra eight months for this night. And for good reason.

The critically acclaimed Half-Blood Prince proved to equal and surpass all the hype surrounding this summer’s must see film. By catering to the passions of a crazed fan-base by combining an exquisite score, superb performances, and the directorial stylings of David Yates; the latest Potter engagement has the potential to obliterate box-office expectations as well as cash in during award season as well.

I must admit that this is the first Potter film that I have seen after reading the books. I wasn’t sure what kind of impact this would have on my viewing, but I can assure you that I was not disappointed. Yes there were a few moments that left me wanting more, and one scene that left me wishing I had the opportunity to direct this installment. However, the film as a whole was completely satisfying and even more at times.

While reading the books during the summer of 2008 (I read all seven for the first time in 10 days and was instantly a fan), I always felt that “Prince” was not only the best of the series, but also the only that could stand alone. The prickles of teen romance, the humor of everyday situations of a 16 year-old, and the development of Severus Snape as perhaps the most intriguing character in recent literature all aid the story in its conquest of the minds of readers across the globe. The same can be said for the film.

Prince is outrageously funny with brilliant performances from the film’s young stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, instead of tongue-in-cheek one liners. Grint finally is able to match the dynamism that Watson and Radcliffe have shown in earlier editions of the series. Alongside new comers Jessie Cave (Lavender Brown) and Freddie Stroma (Cormac McLaggen), the three primary Gryffindors reach into the heart of all movie-goers by reminding the elder of us what it was like to be a teenager in love and showing the younger of us just how crazy we can be. Cave in particular has a knack for delivering teen awkwardness whenever on screen. She is simply brilliant.

However, the true star of this film is Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy). His emotions leap off the screen and right inside of every member in the audience. When Felton is assaulting Potter on the train, you understand his disgust. When he is crying alone in a Hogwart’s lavatory, you sympathize with his remorse. And when he is atop the tower, wand shaking in hand, voice quaking with each syllable; you know his fear in the face of an impossible task. With most of his acting career having been devoted to the Potter franchise, Felton has not had sufficient time to delve into other projects. I expect bright things in his future.

As noted earlier, the film boasts one of the finest scores to accompany a film in my opinion. Each episode of the series has delivered handsomely on the music side, but Prince especially uses the score to the fullest advantage. Composer Nicholas Hooper deserves as much credit as the actors and Yates for the quality of the film.

Despite the praise given forthwith there will doubtlessly be many who do not view the film in such high esteem. “Potter purists” (people who feel that every film leaves out too much or takes too many liberties with the source material) will certainly debate many of Yates’ omissions for this film. I went to the film with several close friends. Each of them can be considered a Potter purist and had a few grievances with the film. The most common complaint was the prevalence of Bellatrix Lestrange, played by Helena Bonham Carter, in the film; most notably during the Death Eater “invasion” of Hogwarts. Likewise the attack on the Burrow (the home of the Weasley family), which takes place about half-way through the film, received less than stellar reactions from the purists in the audience. Nevertheless, these few discrepancies between film and text cannot detract from the magnitude of this film’s power. It manages the daunting task of delivering a glimmer of hope to a world that has begun to breach the surface of its darkest reaches.

My personal thoughts on the film are that it was two minutes away from being unquestionably great. Those two minutes comprise my least favorite part of the film, which is unfortunately the climax. A decision by the screenwriter to modify the return of Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) and Potter to Hogwarts, by placing Potter a floor beneath Dumbledore instead of hidden and immobilized across from him. This forces Yates to show the pivotal scene of the film from Potter’s point of view. Looking through the cracks in the floor boards, the audience only catches a glimpse of Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) deliver the killing curse to Dumbledore. This obscured and floor up view severely limits the emotional impact of Snape’s betrayal. I was utterly disappointed by this sequence.

In an excellent display of coincidental symmetry, my favorite scene in the film is actually the opening scene. It is a flash black to the time immediately following the death of Sirius Black. Yates slows down the camera to show a battered and exhausted Potter being embraced by Dumbledore as a dozen or so flashbulbs go off undoubtedly taking photos for the front page of the Daily Prophet. The pace and lighting give the audience insight into the pressures of being the most famous wizard in the world while standing next to the worlds most powerful wizard. As Potter blinks stagnantly as the bulbs flicker, one can understand for the briefest of moments what it would feel like to be 16 and humanity’s last true hope against an impossible evil. Yates uses this shot to set the stakes for the climactic last three films that will decided the fate of not only the wizarding world but the muggle world as well, while simultaneously demonstrating that if given the right amount of time and creative latitude, the final Potter films have the potential to achieve the greatest achievements in film making.

In a sentence: this film returns movie-goers to the long abandoned realm of teen complexity with immaculate precision against the backdrop of a world on the precipice of universal peril.

What should you do? See this film as soon as you have the time. The Potter films are no longer just for children. It is time that the adults got on board.