Years ago, when the Harry Potter books were at maximum popularity, people thought the idea of a film adaption was blasphemous.  Many years later, and after six movies released, it seems that those skeptics were proved wrong.  The first two films were very light hearted, and after The Prisoner of Azkaban, we then saw the series take a darker tone.  With each new movie, we see a darker storyline, and more character depth…if you ask me, it’s a great thing!  The big thing about this new movie, is that you kind of have to suspend your belief even more since the children don’t really look like children anymore.  Take Hermione for instance, she is looking as good as ever, and becoming more filled out than any girl at Hogwarts.  Drako on the other hand…he is looking like a guy in his early 30′s with a receding hairline.  Drako…I have one spell you could use…”Roganius Maximus!”

Adult Situations!!

It’s Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts, and things are worse than ever.  Just how bad has it gotten?  Well, within the first few moments of the film, we see Death Eaters wreaking havoc in not only the Muggle world, but the Wizard world as well, as they terrorize Diagon Alley.  From then on the film takes on a much darker tone than any of the others.  I think this is mainly due to the huge build up in Order of the Phoenix; we are finally seeing how bad things will get because of Lord Voldemort.  Moving on, Dumbledore begins to talk to Harry about taking classes with the new Professor Slughorn.  Now, Slughorn is an interesting character, every minute on screen he is making some quirky face or saying something funny.  In Slughorn’s potions class, Harry stumbles upon an old potion book that was owned by “The Half-Blood Prince.”  Question is…who exactly owned the book?  This is something that Harry and Dumbledore try to figure out throughout the film, and even question Slughorn about his whereabouts in the matter.  From then on, it gets more interesting as you uncover who the Half-Blood Prince really is, and it all culminates into a great climax.  I think the best aspect of the film is that we see more on the origins of Lord Voldemort (a.k.a. Tom Riddle).  No joke, Tom Riddle was a creepy kid…I’m talking “Omen” creepy.

As far as the film is concerned, it was very well made.  My favorite Potter film is always going to be Goblet of Fire, but I must admit that this new title is a close second in the series.  It is much like Order of the Phoenix, with much slower, dialogue-heavy scenes, but there is some true depth to every moment on screen.  Daniel Radcliffe performance was pretty good, and I must admit that even though the kids are beginning to look too old, Rupert Grint (Ron) and Emma Watson (Hermione) both give solid performances, as well. One of my favorite points about the film is that it delves deeper into the life of Drako Malfoy.  He was a character that just seemed like a nuisance to Harry, but is explained much better in this film…you actually understand he is quite deep.  Apart from the typical character development, we also see a lot of romance in this film.  Whether it be Hermione jealous of Ron and his new popularity with the ladies or Harry and Ginny Weasley, there is always some drama.

"Hey Potter, you wanna light this up?"

Now, is the movie worth the price of admission?  I would say yes if you were a fan of the original films, but this is not one that will convert non-fans.  It really amazes me that after 6 movies, they are still churning out good films…you have to commend the filmmakers on that feat alone.  The way the film builds up what is to come, really gets you anxious for the final installment (which is broken into two films).  It builds up so well in fact, that I am actually going to go out and read all 7 books, so I can catch up, since each film is basically just the cliff notes of an even better story.  Cliff notes or not, it is still an enjoyable experience, and something that everyone should try and catch before it leaves the cinema.

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