Harry Potter and
The Half-Blood Prince

Warner Brothers teased, tempted and tantalized us when they moved the release date from November 2008 to July 2009, but was Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince worth the wait? Yes, but don’t make me wait two years for the next one!

Daniel Radcliffe is back as Harry Potter – the young wizard trying to conquer high school, teen romance and the most dangerous dark wizard of all time (and that teen romance is no pushover either). If you didn’t see the previous Harry Potter movies, you are out of luck as we pick up right where Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix left off (time to rent the DVDs!).

Voldemort and his evil minions are causing havoc in the Wizard and Muggle worlds. Harry’s rival, Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), secretly has been meeting with Voldemort’s army of Death Eaters in ways that worry our wizard hero, and, as the kids return for Year 6 at Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) has given Harry a special assignment.

While the Headmaster has been making mysterious trips for reasons unknown to the entire staff and student body, he wants Harry to become friendly with the new Professor of Potions, Professor Slughorn (Jim Broadbent), who might hold some valuable information. Due to a strange textbook marked as property of the Half-Blood Prince, Harry has become the star pupil, and Slughorn is quite taken with the performance and reputation of his new favorite student. However, what Slughorn knows is not something he wants to reveal, even to Harry Potter.

What does Slughorn know?

Can Voldemort be stopped?

What is Dumbledore accomplishing during these clandestine trips?

The beauty and excitement of Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince is that the description above barely scratches the surface of what is happening in this movie. This installment of Harry Potter is more exciting, more daring, more dangerous and more focused on the personal lives of the characters than any one before it, which is why it is so great. Based on the novel from J.K. Rowling, director David Yates and writer Steve Kloves provide layers upon layers of story and character development without sacrificing the action and thrills.

In a way, Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince is a collection of battles both epic and ordinary. On the epic scale, we still are treated to the ultimate battle between good and evil as Harry continues to prepare for the inevitable battle, learns how Tom Riddle became the dastardly Voldemort and realizes how important of a role he plays in this showdown, not just for himself, but for all that is good.

Yet, the audience also gets to see and relate to the ordinary troubles our young people face as they struggle with love, especially the unrequited kind (get used to it, kids). While Emma Watson, as Hermione, mostly has played the goody two shoes, class brain and teacher’s pet, she finally gets to expand a bit in this movie with her best moments yet. Watson is the ultimate lovelorn, heartbroken victim of romance as Hermione pines away for geeky Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), who has become involved with another gal. You have to feel her pain, sadness, anger and more as she tries to deal with the rejection, and root for her to get it together. In a way, Hermione finally becomes kind of human in Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince.

Meanwhile, Alan Rickman continues to deliver the most amazing, memorable and entertaining performances in each movie as Professor Severus Snape. He is deliciously, humorously creepy as he makes each member of the audience question Snape’s loyalties, motivations and desires. The threatening dialogue rolls off his tongue, while his eyes and the pauses he takes build more suspense than any special effect ever could.

Yates and Kloves provide a wonderful tone for the movie with equal parts comedic moments, as well as deeply emotional and frightening ones. While we get a chance to giggle at the awkward moments between the kids, Yates also delivers the most shocking climax we have seen in any Harry Potter movie. This is the one that will make you cry.

Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince is awesome.

Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince is rated PG for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality.