There are few things that compare to a Harry Potter premiere.  Costumes, good and bad, clutter a line that slithers through a movie theatre lobby, often squeezing beyond the glass entrance double doors out into the un-airconditioned night.  There are more wizards, witches, and wands than a Halloween party and even, as was that case in my theater, a more than convincing house elf who, for about three straight hours, proceeded to clean the theatre with a rag.  A little over the top?  Maybe.  But for the millions of Harry Potter fans who waited and waited (both in the theater lines and in the months since the film was first pushed back from its oringal release date) its a welcomed and warming site that reassures us the Harry Potter spirit is still alive and well.

Now before, I journey any further down my own Harry Potter memory lane, I return to the matter at hand: the latest installment in the famous Harry Potter film franchise, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.  The film follows Harry, Ron, Hermoine and the rest of the Hogwarts gang, as they face not only the return of Voldemort and his followers, but also the emergence of the hormones and romances’ that can best be described as, “teenage wizard angst”.

Fear not though.  While there are hook-ups and break-ups, kissing (or snogging as its awesomely called in the film) and fighting, the film definately doesn’t feel like a wand-wielding Gossip Girl.  The film maintains its magical ways, doing well to balance the struggles of young love most Muggles can relate to with the bizzare and fantastic world of magic readers imagined from the books.  The film also allows the cast, particularily Ron, Harry, and Hermoine, played by Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson respectively, to really display their acting prowess which they all do with surprising success.  Michael Gambon (Dumbledore) and Alan Rickman (Severus Snape) are both excellent in their new, supporting roles and the performance given by Jim Broadbent, who plays the newly introduced Horace Slughorn, is, I’m calling it right now, Best Supporting Actor quality.

The storyline differs from the book, as all have, but moves quickly and effectively, making the 2 and half hours fly by.    Director David Yates and and screenwriter Steven Kloves do justice to the book while making the film its own seperate entity.  There’s an good mix of humor, action, and drama, making the movie feel more adult yet still jovial enough for the realms of Harry Potter.  The action is yet another testament to the advancements being made in CGI and special effects.  The few scenes of Quidditch are breathtakingly real and the spells and wand dueling look better than ever.

Kloves and Yates adapt the book perfectly, making the movie not a retelling of the novel but rather a cinemtical interpretation.  The introduction of teen romance is done tastefully and effectively, complete with all the tension and awkwardness that makes teen love so painfully funny.  Overall, while this film is significantly darker and more adult, the one thing that struck me about the film was how funny it was.  I normally dont’t find movies funny enough to laugh out loud in the theater but on more than one occasion I found myself struggling to restrain my laughter.  I wont give too much away but the scenes where Harry drinks his vile of Felix Felices is probably the funniest of all the movies.

Ok, so overall the film is wonderful.  The end is a tad bit slow but not terrible; other than that the film is a great sucess (said like Borat).  I can’t wait to go see it again and will confidently say its the best film of the series thus far (fingers crossed the seventh films are even better).  So, yes, I admit, I waited in line for about five hours to see the film.  Ridiculous?  Yes.  Crazy?  Yes.  Worth it?  Absolutely.

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 4

Ben

1. admin Says:
   July 15th, 2009 at 7:12 pm

   Wow, Bold Statements but good review.
   Kevin

2. admin Says:
   July 15th, 2009 at 9:59 pm

   yea i liked the movie.

3. ben Says:
   January 17th, 2010 at 12:03 pm

   so i did this review in the heat of the hp moment. a few months later i think the movie wasnt as good as the review says…..my bad