Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The latest Potter installment is also the best, though it doesn't really have any right to be. To explain, it's best to go through a little bit of nerd-talk. Also, there are spoilers for the next films. If you're the type that hasn't read the books and has miraculously managed to remain ignorant of the finale's plot details, I suggest you skim through at your risk. There are also spoilers for the movie, but, duh.

Around the time that Steve Kloves began working on the screenplay for Chamber of Secrets, the second film in the series, he and author J.K. Rowling decided that the films would tell the Potter stories strictly from Harry's (Dan Radcliffe) point of view. As Harry is the protagonist of the books, it was at the time a completely reasonable decision from an adapter's point of view, and was probably the best avenue to distill the increasingly gargantuan books into 2 and a half hour films.

Until you get to book 6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the novel, is the only Potter novel that is NOT about Harry. Book 6 is about Voldemort and Snape, and Harry does very little himself other than listen to Dumbledore, and learn about Voldemort. What this means is that MOVIE 6 becomes the point where the films completely and absolutely part ways with the books. And so we have a situation where the movie has the same plot, and the same things happen, and yet it's telling a totally different story than the novel.

It's not a bad story, by any means. In fact it's quite good. Director David Yates and returning writer Kloves successfully, and I daresay artfully, create a world of impending doom, with a tangible sense of fear, without even having Voldemort appear in the film at all. The only difference is, the story is from Harry's point of view. We see him and his friends deal with this changing world. This results in new scenes (including the much maligned Burning of the Burrow, and the drastically altered finale), all of which I totally approve of. For the first time, the movies are a different monster from the books, and I think that given the game plan, this is the best way to approach this film.

*SPOILERS FOR MOVIES 7/8 IN THIS PARAGRAPH*

That isn't to say that I don't have issues. Being familiar with the books, I worry that this film has dropped several important details that I can't reconcile with the next two films, try as I might. But in the end, those quibbles affect the next two films, and not this one. THIS film features spectacular acting from all around (though Emma Watson's Hermione continues to be the weak link, as Radcliffe and Rupert Grint's Ron continue to grow leaps and bounds past her as actors). As for the usual stable of Britain's finest, Michael Gambon as Dumbledore finds himself the true star of the movie, more than aptly filling Richard Harris' admittedly large shoes. I've truly enjoyed his take on Dumbledore, and given an actual arc here, he has been nothing short of delightful, and I can't wait to see his return in the final installment.

*NO MORE SPOILERS*

That said, I am disappointed that Alan Rickman wasn't given the chance to shine as Snape truly becomes the villain of the piece, as he was relegated to a few (key, meaty, to be sure) scenes throughout. I assume, however, that the next films will have considerably more of this new, evil Snape. And I can never praise enough Helena Bonham Carter's delightfully insane Bellatrix Lestrange. This is a character I cannot get enough of, and I am extremely happy to see her role continue to be expanded from the books.

Most of all, though, this feels like a very mature Potter film. It is dark, and it is grown up, and it forces its main characters, as well of its audience, to be the same. I can only applaud everyone involved for not shying away from the core of Rowling's stories, which take you to very dark places indeed before assuring you that everything will be alright, in the end. Color me a big fan of this one.

A-