Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince

Director: David Yates
Screenwriter: Steve Kloves
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Jim Broadbent, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, David Thewlis, Julie Walters
Running time: 153 mins
Certificate: 12A

The sixth instalment in the Harry Potter franchise was always going to be a tough adaptation. Released two years after the final novel, the filmmakers were faced with the task of producing a fresh and surprising movie, despite the well-documented series conclusion, which could easily have removed some of the interest in the boy wizard. Of course, there was never any doubt that Half-Blood Prince would rage an epic assault on the box office despite this - a quick glance at its £2.78 billion takings to date proving the point - but can second-time director David Yates rise above the ordinary and replicate the shocks, twists, turns and excitement we've come to know and love?

It’s Harry’s (Radcliffe) sixth and penultimate year at Hogwarts, and both the magic and muggle worlds are suffering the effects of Lord Voldemort’s return to power. Our hero’s first task is to befriend the newly-appointed Potions master Horace Slughorn (a perfectly cast Broadbent) in order to elicit key information about Voldemort’s years at school, clues that Dumbledore (Gambon) thinks are crucial to bringing about his downfall. However, Harry’s quest is threatened by old nemesis Draco (Tom Felton), who is carrying out secret orders for the Dark Lord in a long-forgotten corner of the castle. Not only that, but Harry finds his attention waning as he battles his increasing romantic interest in Ginny (Bonnie Wright), while tensions brew between his best friends Hermione (Watson) and Ron (Grint) over their own teenage angst.

From the dark and brooding opening in Diagon Alley, the increasing threat of evil is everywhere, making it immediately clear that Half-Blood Prince is a more sophisticated Potter offering. But, while proceedings could quickly descend into the sort of gloomy sentiment usually inspired by Dementors, Yates has masterfully managed to litter his dark narrative with a spattering of comic relief and romantic overtones. Crossed romantic paths provide numerous laugh-out-loud moments, mostly from Ron’s brilliantly one-sided affair with Lavender (stand-out newcomer Jessie Cave), his wide-eyed, breathless and utterly besotted girlfriend. There’s even a handful of sexual innuendos (yes, in a Potter movie!) to keep the laughs coming. But, while the odd bit of kissing marks a welcome diversion from the dark core of the movie, it can threaten to verge on the cheesy (Harry and Ginny’s Room of Requirement encounter being the main culprit). Bonus enjoyment comes from the return of Quidditch, sorely missing from the last movie, while Radcliffe is given a rare opportunity to show his (rather wonderful) comedic chops while under the influence of Felix Felicis.

Obviously, with Half-Blood Prince clocking in at 600-odd pages, it is inevitable that some of the minor subplots and characters will be cut. Noticable omissions include the Gaunt family and Scrimgeour, while the importance of Snape’s new job and the Half-Blood Prince himself are surprisingly relegated to fleeting plot points. A good chunk of Riddle’s back story is also axed, while Fiennes’s Lord Voldemort fails to appear at all, although what we do see in a couple of flashbacks is creepily mesmerising, with both the young and teenage Voldemort’s delivering disturbingly stellar performances. The immeasurably watchable Rickman triumphs as always with his sneering, terrifying Snape, while the criminally underused Bonham Carter shines again in her no-holds-barred portrayal of the frankly insane Bellatrix, capped by an epic scene in which she violates a certain Potter institution that we’ve come to know and love. Special kudos must also go to Felton, whose Draco is given the chance to escape his schoolboy-bully caricature and embrace a truly sinister, deeply conflicted antihero, climaxing in an utterly fabulous sectumsempra showdown with Radcliffe.

Yates has managed to take an ostensibly child-friendly franchise and create a grown-up, visually stunning feature. Half-Blood Prince will surely satisfy die-hard fans with its faithful narrative and attention to detail (look out for Arthur’s muggle shed and Dumbledore's sherbets!), although less Potter-versed viewers might be left slightly confused by certain subplots, such as the importance of horcruxes. That being said, this will certainly be a strong contender for movie of the summer and few will fail to be impressed by the breathtaking finale and tear-jerking loss of a beloved character. Half-Blood Prince ends on a high, brilliantly setting up for the two-part Deathly Hallows, a stellar achievement considering we know what's going to happen... suddenly 2010 seems a very long way away...


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