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REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

By Armina Dinescu
Monday 28th September 2009
Over ten years have passed since J.K. Rowling tripped millions into a temporary state of Pottermania. Many have wondered about and misunderstood the appeal of the story of a dark-haired, bespectacled orphan boy, unexpectedly thrust into the role of saviour of a wizarding world. Although I have often found myself wanting to explain its charm to non-believers, and failing to bring up any arguments related to originality or literary value, the Harry Potter films stand in a category of their own. With the penultimate part of the books (but not the penultimate instalment in film form) released in cinemas worldwide this July, old and new fans alike found themselves drawn back into the fandom - “Harry Potter fan-fiction” was once again the most searched for fan-fiction subject online. The filmic adaptations have generally been regarded as trying to achieve one of two things: either striving to respect religiously the narrative elements of the books (as was the case in Chris Columbus' films for the first two instalments) or focusing on character development and the tone of the story in a more stylized manner (as, first, Alfonso Cuarón, then Mike Newell, and finally David Yates attempted to do with their parts). “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” follows very much into the footsteps of its latter predecessors, with an obvious emphasis on gorgeous cinematography and engaging editing, and a disregard to what some might consider crucial pieces of plot. Recounting the events of Harry's sixth year (and the last one he would spend) at Hogwarts, the story develops room for Draco Malfoy, Harry's sometime-nemesis at school, up until now used mainly for comic relief, as a secondary focus. While the Gryffindor hero spends most of the film preparing with Albus Dumbledore for the inevitable showdown with Lord Voldemort and trying his hand at being a teenage boy, Malfoy becomes the Dark Lord's latest pawn and brings about the Headmaster's death. As the target audience are clearly teenagers of a similar age to Harry's, Yates embraces rom-com tropes to a rather embarrassing degree but, if you, like me, haven't perused the books or watched the films in two years, you've probably missed it too much to complain and will end up rolling your eyes and enjoying the good bits. Things I have missed and would gladly watch again: Alan Rickman's unforgettable drawls, DanRad's pincers, Tom Felton pulling clothes off himself and Michael Gambon's flamboyance.In a couple of years, this will all be over and we will finally be able to look back at the hardcovers and DVDs, smile fondly, and feel like letting go. But, until then, I for one am looking forward to the epic romance of young Albus Dumbledore and the evil wizard Grindelwald, coming soon to a cinema near you...