Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Tagline: Once again I must ask too much of you, Harry.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Summary: Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) begins his sixth year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and begins to learn more about Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and his dark past, as well as deal with the trials and tribulations of blossoming romances among his classmates

5 Words/Phrases: Reasonably good adaption of book to movie; a few scenes were not wholly necessary; great special effects; the “trio” all have matured and improved their acting; the pace of the movie was quick but didn’t feel rushed

Most Impressed By: The set of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes; the amount of comedy throughout the movie; the depth of character Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) and Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright) had; Evanna Lynch’s perfect performance as Luna Lovegood; the mesmerizing lunacy of Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter); the return of Quidditch; the believable love triangles/entanglements; Emma Watson’s improved acting as Hermione Granger¹

Least Impressed By: Michael Gambon’s portrayal of Dumbledore; the lack of Merope Gaunt (I would have liked to have seen her, even if only for a few minutes); the character of Lavender Brown (Jessie Cave) and her simpering idiocy; the lack of screentime Ron was given; the lack of the more important memories in Dumbledore’s Pensieve

Overall Rating: 9/10

1. Emma had so much less hyperactive eyebrow jumping this movie, which was a relief. [↩]

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.