The end draws ever nearer for the famous Harry Potter (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (DVD))

Member Name: sparkymarky1973

Product:	Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (DVD)
Date:	05/08/09 (27 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A much darker, more adult Harry Potter movie

Disadvantages: The orgy scene between Harry, Ron, Hagrid and Hermione...only joking!

The Half-Blood Prince is the latest addition to the Harry Potter series which sees the films drawing ever closer to the end. Apparently there are two films in this series left to go and you get the real sense here that everything, not just the chartacters, is preparing for a very tense and bitter climax! I have never really read the books, I tried Philosopher's Stone and personally wasn't keen on Rowling's writing style, so was not sure what to expect other than that a very important character dies. I had been told that this film doesn't make sense for those who have not read the books and that huge chunks had been edited so that whole chapters of the book were now missing, but I am happy to report that I found neither of this to be true and did not ruin my enjoyment!

I wasn't that keen on going to the cinema to see this initially but my wife insisted as we have seen all of them so far on the big screen! I am glad she did however as this is the darkest, most serious Harry Potter film to date. Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny are very obviously growing up and dealing with the pressures of their maturing relationships. Voldemort is free and his Death-Eaters creating havoc both amongst the Magic community and the Muggles (or non-magical civilians). And Dumbledore is determined to discover Voldemort's hidden weakness even if it puts himself and his chosen champion, Harry, at ever greater risk to themselves.....

There are some very tense and adult moments here in this dark and moody film and there is a real sense that the movie series is growing with it's audience; developing it's mature themes along with those who watch the films. Certainly this is not a film for kiddies anymore and there were a couple of moments that even made me, a stalwart of the horror movie generation, jump. Dumbledore has begun to more and more represent Gandalf The Grey both in his stature, seriousness and appearance and there is a much more epic feel to this film than in previous entries, no doubt because The Final Battle draws ever nearer...still, I find elements of incredubility creeping in especially when Harry and Dumbledore approach a battered cottage and the aging Wizard tells Harry to ready his wand Used to seeing cops drawing their weapons before a dangerous encounter, the sight of Harry doing the same with his wand still never manages to quite ring true for me and almost seems quite laughable. Still this is a minor slight and more a fault of mine as a viewer than of the writers or director.

The people behind this series are obviously trying to make this more Hollywood action film in appearance and have obviously taken their inspiration from that genre as they previously seemed to do from The Lord Of The Rings films. But, overall, I consider this film to be a success and probably the best Harry Potter film to date. And coming from someone who doeesn't really consider himself a fan, that has to be a highly praised compliment indeed. I could even sit and watch this again....

Summary: Someone is going to dieeeeeeeeee........