Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Running time: 2.5 hours
MPAA rating: PG

Going into this film, my greatest fear was that it would only serve as a very long advertisement for the final two of the series. Rumors had even passed around the web that the extremely notable ending had been cut for use as the opening of the Deathly Hallows. As I’m sure that Warner Bros. would be none too pleased with me revealing what is or isn’t in the movie, I do have one thing to say: it is the single most powerful ending in the series thus far.

From the moment the movie begins in the rubble and shock of The Order of the Phoenix’s final battle, a deep emphasis is placed on the paternal relationship that Dumbledore holds for Harry. This is reflected throughout the last half of the movie as well. What may be considered my biggest issue with the plot is what happens in the time betwixt these ruminations of human emotion. Anybody who has read the book will be expecting long-standing infatuations to make themselves known, but they all seem to come on much too strongly and with fervor to boot. The only blatant sign of the amorous feelings a certain Ron and Hermione share in the previous films is a bit of spontaneous hand-holding. In this one, she seems about ready to try the “avada kedavra” herself when he makes eyes at another woman.

With that out of the way, I’d like to move on to one of the most significant plot lines of the film: the struggle of Draco Malfoy. The only reference that I can think of for his character is Rolf from “The Sound of Music”. Both are essentially normal youth who are called upon by dark forces to commit unspeakable evil. At first, Draco seems to be rather proud of his undisclosed assignment, going so far as to subtly brag to his friends about it aboard the Hogwarts Express. Seen alone, however, he is still a very human child who struggles in quiet contemplation of the task before him. This brings the viewer an empathy for him that has not been easily felt in previous acts. This is contrasted by the very evil and manipulative youth of Lord Voldemort himself, shown through flashback memories and played by the nephew of the adult Dark Lord’s actor.

As it stands in my categorization of the series, The Half-Blood Prince comes only second to The Prisoner of Azkaban, which stands with the highest quality of the bunch. You’ll hardly realize the time that has passed when the credits roll, and it will hopefully become apparent why the Deathly Hallows had to be split into two films. The characters that remain in the end leave us with the harsh sting of reality, and the hope aided by loved-ones for the future.

As I’ve come to realize, from my experience and presumably that of many others, the MPAA are a bunch of twits who could rate a movie more accurately by rolling a die. Therefore, I’ll be posting my own view on the film’s rating in each of my reviews. A much more correct rating for this movie would be PG-13, as many images and scenes are terrifying in a traumatized-for-life sort of way, and should not be viewed by the children of parents who dislike spending their nights watching their kids’ closets for signs of monsters. Otherwise, enjoy the midnight shrieking due to images of undead sea-creatures and possessed girls floating in mid-air.

Much Love,
Autolycus

P.S. As this is my first full review of a movie, I don’t expect it to be great. With that said, I would greatly appreciate your feedback, questions, corrections, requests, etc.
Thank you!