Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Just as I witnessed the exact translation of the tense political and magical atmosphere in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince there is a mood full of anticipation, competition, pranks, and infatuations. The popularity of this installment simply depends on the popularity of the book source material, and those who expected to continue the previous storylines without being familiar with it are bound to be disappointed. At Hogwarts there is an atmosphere of a year-long Valentine's Day, where it's easier to forget everything that burdens the outside world. And so, only Dumbledore regularly reminds everyone of why Harry is indispensable and irreplaceable, Draco noticeably keeps his distance from others, and the Christmas holidays show once again that evil never sleeps. Naturally, the screenplay doesn't forget that the dark fantasy mythology is continuing to progress and leaves our heroes exactly where they were destined to be from the beginning of the saga. At the beginning of the final rebellion, on the brink of independence. And the gem of it all is that both darkness and enchanting romance work so naturally alongside each other that it takes your breath away. David Yates is a king. (30/07/2009)

I read somewhere the other day that the sixth Harry Potter film will be a bridge from the fifth to the final episodes. And that's what it looks like in the overall scheme of things. Since David Yates has been in the director's chair, this saga has taken on a grim veneer of action. I don't think that's missing here. The audio-visual execution, including the cinematography, is really good, especially the Millennium Bridge and the cave scene. The screenplay is based on the book, but other material has been brought to the surface, which at times mars the overall look of the film. The soundtrack fits the scenes perfectly – again, I liked the cave scene best. Casting Jim Broadbent as Slughorn was an excellent move, because that's sort of how I imagined his character. The final scene with Dumbledore and Snape and then with Snape was quite disappointing for me, but it is a "bridge" after all. For me, probably the weakest episode of the whole saga, excelling in the technical area rather than the script and the actors. (29/07/2010)

It was fun, it makes it all the more messy. People who haven't read the book must be a bit confused (well, my immediate circle was). It's a shame the script buried it like that. If it had been more in the detective vein (remembering what Draco actually does) and flashed some of that romantic sparks here and there, it probably would have been better. I don't think Harry Potter is a one-act romantic comedy... Music – great as always; effects as well. It's just that a 153-minute movie shouldn't look like this, or let it look like this, but the people around you in the theater aren't supposed to be saying: "Is it finally over? Damn, not yet?! What time is it? Check your watch!" I kind of want to say RIP. Weakest installment of the series. Anyway, I'm curious to see what they're gonna serve up next. (16/07/2009)

Considering Yates managed to get something out of the most superfluous part of the book that ends up not working because of that superfluousness (aka zero action), then I have nothing left to do than look forward to the adaptation of book seven which might at last aspire to toppling Cuarón’s offering from its position of best Harry Potter movie adaptation. (20/07/2009)

Visually the most elaborate piece of nothing yet. An empty script in which Emma Watson overacts her sad and jealous grimaces, Potter chases everyone but the right girl, and the third guy in the bunch is totally out of touch with the reality of what's going on. There's an excruciatingly large amount of high school romance and damn little action or drama in the story, and the little there is, it barely lasts a few minutes or is at the end. A woefully lacklustre and uninteresting episode that served only as a prelude to the grand finale. (26/06/2023)