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Harry Potter has kept his fans waiting for two years, the longest school break they have had to endure for a new movie adventure about the teen wizard.
And it’s been worth the wait.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth movie in the
fantasy franchise based on J K Rowling’s books, is the
franchise’s best so far, blending rich drama and easy
camaraderie among the actors with the visual spectacle that
until now has been the real star of the series.
Most fans know the shocker in store involving Dumbledore and
the ominous Professor Snape (Alan Rickman). Like their young
co-stars, Gambon and Rickman live and breathe these characters
by now, Dumbledore a towering presence of grace and nobility,
Snape a delightful cold fish whose actions reveal his
tiger-shark stripes.
Visual-effects technology definitely have caught up with Rowling’s imagination and the filmmakers have some rowdy fun with their splendid images.
The Quidditch match on flying broomsticks is like airborne rugby, the way the players hammer into one another. And the broomsticks between the boys’ legs take on a bawdy phallic look that wryly complements the sexual themes emerging among the teens.
Director Yates is also making the two-part adaptation of the seventh and final book, the movies due out in November 2010 and July 2011. Half-Blood Prince should leave fans as eager for those last movies as a high-school junior is for graduation day.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, a Warner Bros. release, is rated PG for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality.
Running Time: 153 minutes
Rating: 3.5 / 4
