AMB Reviews

*Written by Lauren Langham, Guest Reviewer*

Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince: 8/10 Stars

Release Date: July 15, 2009

Content Advisory: Rated PG for scary images, some violence, language, and mild sensuality. A quick glimpse of a passionate kiss. The scary images include a person who gets cursed, a poisoning, and a few zombie-like creatures. The mild violence includes a couple of punches and a scene with non-realistic blood.

Review:

The sixth "Harry Potter" movie was fast paced and well written, but they skipped many key plot points that were essential to the story.

In Short:

"Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" is a compelling film that sucks you in the moment the lights dim. This installment of the series documents Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts, and this time he and Headmaster Albus Dumbledore are studying the Dark Lord Voldemort's childhood to find a way to defeat him. There was a lot packed into the script, which gives the film a rushed feel. They didn't include numerous scenes that helped explain Voldemort's back story. The CGI was impressive, but the ending wasn't as satisfying as it could've been.

In Full:

The infamous trio is back for their sixth year at Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore has Harry busy doing errands and spying on teachers for him all year long. Ron gets a girlfriend while a jealous Hermione tries to get his attention. This year, Malfoy is up to something and Harry knows it. But, once again, the teachers don’t believe him. Then there’s the mysterious Potions textbook filled with notes and spells by the Half Blood Prince. No one knows who this mysterious character is. And, as an added bonus, it’s finally revealed which side Snape’s really on. This exciting movie is fast paced, almost too fast at times. If you haven’t seen the previous movies or read the books, you wouldn’t understand what is going on in this movie at all. But if you’re a fan, you’ll love this movie.

The cast has some new additions this year. Helen McCroy as Narcissa Malfoy and Jim Broadbent as Professor Horace Slughorn are added to the Harry Potter family. Most of our old favorites did return, but they didn’t get much screen time. Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnigan were in the whole movie for about two seconds while Crabbe and Goyle are just in the background for one scene. But the actors pull off many hard stunts and made the movie once again. There weren’t as many actually funny scenes as there were in previous movies. There were many attempts that just fell short. But, when the scenes were really funny, they did a good job of keeping it going.

The setting was perfect, as always. The crew does a great job getting the setting just right for the scene they’re shooting. The special effects were amazing; there were some times when the CGI was so realistic, I almost thought it was real. There were some times when the camera work was shaky and not well placed. There were many explosions that were spaced out just enough in the script that you didn’t get tired of them. The crew that worked with CGI and special effects was very good at making some scenes have subtle extra stuff or other scenes over flow with necessary visual effects. I think this is a strong point for all the Harry Potter films.

Even though I really liked this movie, there were quite a few things I really didn’t like about it. There are many times where you don’t entirely know what’s going on because there was so much in the movie, they didn’t have time to explain it. After a while, it was really annoying! Not to mention that the love stories between the main characters were so rushed, it seemed fake. It also seemed to drag a little towards the end, almost like they didn’t know how to finish it.

"Harry Potter 6" is an excellent movie, one of the best that has come out so far in 2009. The CGI is, as always, amazing. There are problems with some of the shots and the script, but it doesn’t outweigh the amazing job the cast and crew did once again. The ending leaves you wanting to find out what happens next. Over all, it’s worth watching at least twice!