Jim Broadbent steals the show—the very good show that is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Half-Prince is brilliant, a low key comedic epic—the first epic of the series—playing as sort of a 'Harry Potter's Greatest Hits.' Director David Yates may not play to the magical resonance of Alfonso Cuaron, or to Chris Columbus's attention to children, or even Mike Newell's smoldering melodrama, but what he does play to, is everyone, and brilliantly. Beyond brilliantly.
With the previous installment, Order of the Phoenix, Yates crafted a dark, visceral, lean 'n mean slice of entertainment—perfectly fitting with the prevalent style of the new millennium. With Half-Blood Prince, he's reinvented not only himself, but the weighty series as well, keeping it fresh and well-tuned for its imminent, two-part conclusion.
Kicking off with a dark nod to terrorism, Prince soon settles in to its more relaxed, more homey, and so very refreshing simpler kind of storytelling, as we follow the trio through yet another year up at ol' Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And the trio—in actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson—are more or less put on trial, as they are given an enormous amount of screen-time, and especially amongst one other. Radcliffe has perfected Potter as Bruce Willis had with John McClane at the time of Die Hard: With a Vengeance. The same goes for Grint and Watson. It's almost as if they're on cruise control, but in a good, relaxing way.
Despite this overall tone, Yates still inflicts wonderfully-constructed action sequences and truly inspired moments of terror, making one wonder not only why the film wasn't rated PG-13, but why it wasn't rated R. For example, a scene in which a student is hexed and then subsequently possessed/impaired is legitimately, utterly, terrifying. The same goes for what hides in the lake (don't touch the water). There is also some great Chosen One-on-Chosen One action between Potter and peer-nemesis Draco Malfoy (the always over-the-top Tom Felton). The scene in the bathroom between the two is the best of their encounters, though the others are worthy of mention as well.
The palette of the film effectively sets itself in a truly "magical" world. This look, ever-present in recent years, is flat-out annoying in most films, even in the fantasy genre. Yet, somehow, somebody—Yates, cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, maybe even J.K. Rowling herself make it work. The film looks, sounds, and just is, wonderful, and unfortunately it feels like a rarity in that respect.
In the end, David Yates has done his best to emulate a more famous David, and has succeeded with flying (although sometimes muted) colors. Poor man's, relatively, modernized, whatever—call him what you want, but Yates has proved he's the man for the job, and he's more than welcome to return to Hogwarts for another—and final—year. Above all, Yates makes sure Half-Blood Prince knows its place. It knows that it's the sixth entry in the series. It knows that the seventh and final chapter is looming. It knows who, what, and why it is. And that's why it works, as the gang always says— "brilliantly."
***1/2 out of ****
~ Patrick Fryberger
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