Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (2009)
Directed by David Yates
Written by Steve Kloves
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman
Release Date July 15th, 2009
Published July 14th, 2009
The last decade has been dominated by franchise films from the return of Lucas's Star Wars to the supposedly unfilmable Lord of the Rings to Sam Raimi's greatest of all superhero series Spiderman and the wholly original Matrix films of the Wachowski Brothers. It is arguable however that the franchise with the greatest staying power in the minds of fans and even film aficionados may be that of J.K Rowling's Harry Potter. It helps that it is the longest of all of the franchises but there are also the wonderful characters, the extraordinary set design and fabulous effects.
Also there is the way Harry sort of encompasses elements of those other great franchises within itself. The parallels between Potter and Star Wars, LOTR and The Matrix become clearer in the latest installment in this ever increasingly epic film franchise.
In Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince we are merely weeks removed from when Harry watched his beloved uncle Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) murdered by Belatrix LeStrange (Helena Bonham Carter) and then watched Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) battle the Dark Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) to what can only be described as a tie.
The Dark Lord is weakened but not defeated as Harry is confronted by Dumbledore in a muggle train station where he is hiding out. Dumbledore wants Harry for a special mission, they are to attract a former Hogwarts professor, Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) to come back to the school. Professor Slughorn has a particular piece of information that he is not wanting to give up. It's urgent that someone get it out of him because it is the key to stopping the Dark Lord whose evil intentions have begun to extend out of the magical world and into the muggle world.
Back at Hogwarts Harry is reunited with his friends Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Emma Watson). Teenage hormones are beginning to run wild at Hogwarts. Sometime in the recent past Hermione has developed a crush on Ron while the thick headed Weasley misses all of the signals and goes out with a wacky little thing named Lavender (Jessie Cave).
Harry meanwhile has developed a crush of his own on Ron's little sister Ginny Bonnie Wright). The young romance is handled with delicacy and great care by director David Yates who does a masterful job of allowing the characters moments of childish fun while the ever deepening darkness continues to rise around them.
The stunning supporting cast continues to turn in stellar work as has been the case throughout the series. Especially good this time around are Alan Rickman's ominous Professor Snape and Tom Felton's Draco Malfoy. Felton's work prior to Half Blood Prince hasn't gone much beyond malevolent sniveling but in
Half Blood Prince his surprisingly conflicted nature is among the most compelling elements of the film.
Director David Yates has become the unlikely auteur of the Potter series. Having never directed a feature before, Yates was an unlikely and controversial choice to direct Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. That film quickly quieted fears of millions of fans and now with Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Yates has come to own the franchise.
Yates and his exceptionally talented ensemble leave you wanting more and really that is what the film is supposed to do given that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 1 and 2 are still to come in 2010 and 2011. Yet, despite being a table setter, Half Blood Prince offers so many wonders it really stands as a triumph of its own.
Where other franchises have lost steam after just three outings the Potter series looks stronger than ever headed to sequels seven and eight. It's quite a testament to the remarkable storytelling of JK Rowling who has taken elements of some of the greatest stories ever told and fashioned them into something wholly original and all her own. What a remarkable piece of work.
