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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

If there is a fault in the “Harry Potter” film series, it is that none of the films can truly stand on their own. As books, the story is fascinating to the detail—intricate yet accessible to all. Each book packs such an emotional wallop that as a reader, you are just A-OK reading about Harry doing such menial tasks like homework for Potions or strolling the halls of Hogwarts. Cinematically however, it just doesn’t translate. To fit in film form, fascinating characters need to be cut, scenes trimmed, locations excised entirely, etc. The story has been scraped to its bare essentials, but upon viewing of the central crux of the story, ‘tis not something to make a fuss about or worth viewing.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the sixth film—“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” Voldemort, as the central antagonist of the series, oscillates in and out each entry; he’s an overshadowing villain whose dark shadow waxes and wanes, depending on what else there is to put in a feature length film. Interestingly enough though, for a film upon whose entire character history is dependent, in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” you never once see the Dark Lord in villainous form, or feel his presence. He is a character spoken of but never seen; feared but never felt. Sure, we manage to see him as a child and student, brought about by memories of those who knew him, but it’s scarcely the same. Origin stories such as “Batman Begins” or “Spider-Man” are wonderful to watch, seeing in the characters what they were before, what made them change, and why they changed. We never get to see the transformation of Voldemort from a student to a superhuman wizard. We are supposed to connect the pieces ourselves, but the problem is the puzzle is never presented in a striking enough manner to peak my interest to really take the time to piece together.

This is probably why it was such a chore to watch the central plot of the film, which involves Harry attempting to piece together Voldemort’s past. I was never given enough reason to care. Reason has nothing to do with it anyway. You see Voldemort’s evil, but whereas you are given somewhat of an explanation of the why in the book version, in the film you are not. Interest is thusly lost.

Despite the film’s inability to grab its audience with a fixating plot, there is great eye candy to be found. Harry’s journey is not an intriguing one, but it is a beautiful one. Director David Yates has a fantastic cinematic palate and moves the camera with a stylish elegance and grittiness as well. An attack on the Weasley household more than midway through the film highlights this. It’s best described as guerilla style fantasy filmmaking. It’s brutally magical.

The young leads have never shown true strength in their roles, as has been the nature of the series; never really opening themselves up to the audience, letting us feel and be with them, as the books so allow. The adults pick up where the younger ones fail though. Alan Rickman is thankfully given a more substantial role this time around as Professor Snape. He’s a slimy, uncertain character of whom we, as an audience, will never get enough. Michael Gambon as Dumbledore also deserves mention. He can’t compare to Richard Harris who embodied the wonderful wizard to the fullest. But Gambon is a workman-like stand who suffices just fine. Jim Broadbent as newcomer Horace Slughorn transcends the limitations of on-screen movie magic. He is twitchy, hungry, uncertain, shifty, and ultimately, a wonderful character to watch.

By the film’s end, with tragedy striking Hogwarts, you may want to cry at the unfortunate events of the film which unfold, but find yourself unable to. The quality of the production is there: musical score, cinematography, performance (even a good majority of the kid actors get by). This epitomizes the movie though, which on its own represents the worst excesses (or lack thereof) of the series. In whittling down the story, character developments, etc., to make in suitable screen form, the screenwriters unwittingly lopped off the most essential part--the magical soul.

Written by: Matthew Doyle

Reviewers Rating: 5.5
Reader's Rating: 10.00
Reader's Votes: 3

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