MOVIE REVIEWS: HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

ENGLISH - (PG13) - 16 July 2009 - Adventure/Fantasy/Family
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Running time: about 153 mins.
Director: David Yates
Producers: David Heyman, David Barron
Writers: Steve Kloves (screenplay); J K Rowling (novel)
Casts: Daniel Redcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Alan Rickman
Plot: Lord Voldermort is wreaking havoc throughout Britain as Harry Potter begins his sixth year at Hogwarts. The pressure to defeat the Dark Lord grows stronger in the young wizard. Using an old Potions Book which previously belonged to the 'Half-Blood Prince', Harry is able to increase his magical knowledge and prepare for battle. However, he must first help Dumbledore discover the secret to Voldermort's quest for immortality - the location of his Horcruxes. But the quest for the Horcruxes and the resulting battle at Hogwarts produce a tragic outcome - leading Harry to believe that he must head out on his own to conquer the Dark Lord.

THE VERDICT:

Green Tea Bern says:

I never have the preference to any of those previous Harry Potter movies before but this one should make a little exception by the way. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is perhaps a little surprising for me, more standout and much better. If you doubt it, please read on to get convinced.

Harry Potter 6 continues the saga following the death of Sirius Black. Now that Harry Potter is convince that he is the chosen one, Professor Dumbledore shows Harry about the greatest secret ever held regarding Voldermort. Voldermort whom known as Tom Riddle during his childhood once discovered a powerful magic spell that may have threatened the wizardry world. With the clues, Harry finds himself getting closer on his final battle with Voldermort.



The plot this time is much simpler and easy to follow. The best thing is, the story telling is much improved and very conscience. The story is compact, condense and very central on what is necessary. These are in contrast with most of the previous movies in the franchise. Remember the very dry, out of focus story telling in Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix?

Although it gains so much this time, the story pace is still utterly slow. The differences are this time it is still making me fully awake. The problem of slow pace is still imminent after all these while. It feels like a wasted product for an otherwise great franchise. Regardless how good or bad this movie can be, it is still going to be a hit after all. The plot is much subtle and average I would say but it is still can be improved further.

The casts assemble displays a better quality this time compared to the Order of the Phoenix. Characterization becomes more detail this time. However, the sense of unclear still exists - especially the character of Draco Mafroy. However, I would have to say that Tom Riddle is the most exciting and in fact I anticipated the most. Greatly it lived up to expectation though. Professor Dumbledore is charisma and enchanted, reminded me of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings.

Harry, Ron and Hermione are equally good, but I felt that the movie centralize too much of their romantic parts rather than their adventure and fun in their sixth year in school.

Cinematographic aspect is breathtaking like the previous. Kudos to the team in which it has produce such a great scenery. The problem is the effects. The visual is stunning but the particular visual effects still suffered from the effects of poorly done and in some parts the scenes look fake as ever. With such high budget, the effects were still not the best I have ever seen. In fact, the Goblet of Fire has the better edge.

Whether this movie is awesome, it depends on whether you are a fan or not. The novel is still by far better than the screen adaptation. If you are a fan, you will always enjoys it. If you are not, you will end up have the feeling of getting burned. By contrast, I would still rank the movies as such: 1) Goblet of Fire 2) Prisoner of Azkaban 3) this one 4) Chamber of Secrets 5) The Sorcerer's Stone and 6) Order of Phoenix.

THE RATINGS.....
CAST - 3.5 stars
STORY - 3.5 stars
CINEMATOGRAPHY - 4.5 stars
EFFECTS - 3.5 stars
an overall>> 3.5 stars
GreenTea-O-Meter: 14.6