Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
By Gregory McLinden
Image Source: IMDb
logline: As Harry Potter begins his sixth year at Hogwarts, he discovers an old book marked as "the property of the Half-Blood Prince" and begins to learn more about Lord Voldemort's dark past.
Source: IMDb
The penultimate book of the Potter series but not the penultimate film. Half Blood Prince sees Harry discovers a book written and with notes from the 'half-blood prince' who this is we don't know. What we do know is it makes Harry excel, but of course this doesn't make the life of everyone's favourite boy wizard any easier. Half Blood Prince was the first Harry Potter film I saw at the cinema, and I committed a cinematic sin when seeing it - I hadn't seen any of the previous films. Looking back I realise quite how insane this was. As someone who at the time hadn't seen any of the Harry Potter films one thing I remember looking back 11 years ago was just how tonally dark this film was. Looking back after having seen every single Potter film multiple times I realise that actually this was probably one of the darkest most emotionally intense films of the franchise. But let's be honest here, I think it's fair to say the series taking this dark, and moody turn was a wise move. We are entering the final moments of the Potter franchise of course it isn't going to be easy going, so making everything more dramatic and cinematic was a great call. For example, one scene that I still remember watching vividly in the cinema was watching the dementors flying over London, a city I have visited many times, and watching them destroy the Millennium bridge. Of course there are some more light hearted moments, I draw your attention to our trip to Fred and George's joke shop in Daigon Alley, as well as also furthering the love interests that have been developed over the franchise thus far. Half Blood Prince I think is arguably the film that will stick in most Potter fans mind's mainly due what happens towards the end of the film, I will not disclose that here for risk of spoilers but if you didn't gasp and shed a tear during 'that' scene then you quite frankly don't deserve to watch Harry Potter - it's harsh but fair. Being one of the first films I remember seeing at the cinema I may be impartial here but I truly think the Half Blood Prince is one of, if not the best Harry Potter film.
My Favorite Characters:
Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy - Of course Draco is an ever present tormentor of Harry throughout the franchise but something about his part and role in the Half Blood Prince feels different, he is really solidified by the potential threat of him being given more powers to become a Death Eater. We also see his character undergo so much growth here, it's difficult not to always draw back to 'that' scene towards the end of the film but watching Draco in those moments before 'it' occurs you can see his struggle for the first time he isn't the school bully we've all come to at this point in the franchise have a mild hatred and annoyance towards. In this scene we see him be human and realise his actions have consequences, and that he isn't the psycho we all may have thought he was. This is down to Felton who plays the role incredibly, but I mean you have to feel sorry for Felton, his whole childhood he grew up with everyone seeing him as the school bully, but what an incredible performance he gives in a role that showed his incredible actor prowess.
This movie is rated PG. Here’s why:
Scary Images
Some Violence
Language
Mild Sensuality
Fun Fact: When Draco Malfoy goes to the Room of Requirement for the final time, you can see the harp that put Fluffy to sleep and the King from the game of chess from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Where To Watch:
IMDb and Reddit Thread:
