Such a frustrating disappointment

Simply Perfect

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This review is full of spoilers.Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released in 2009 and was directed once again by David Yates and stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Alan Rickman in his best performance yet as Professor Snape.It follows a plot being orchestrated by an off-screen Voldemort to kill Dumbledore at Hogwarts, because the only wizard Voldemort fears is - you guessed it - Dumbledore. Harry believes (correctly, I might add) that Draco Malfoy, played really well by Tom Felton, has been chosen to do it. All while Harry and Dumbledore must find Voldemort's strange and difficult to destroy One-Ring-Ripoff objects called Horcruxes, because once they are destroyed Voldemort can finally be killed. All while dealing with a new Potions teacher, the odd Professor Horace Slughorn, Harry finding a mysterious cheating book written by "The Half-Blood Prince," Ron getting a new girlfriend to Hermoine's dismay, Harry trying to get together with Ron's sister Ginny, Hagrid losing his first friend the giant Spider... Wow, a lot more happens in this film than I remember.Now let's talk about the positives, because there are a lot. The acting, character development, and interactions are all top notch. The score is fantastic as usual. The cinematography and even set and costume design is a step up from the previous installment. The tone, while darker than previous installments, feels right and is completely consistent. The story is quite engaging, despite one glaring issue:Unfortunately, my biggest problem with this installment is that, despite so much going on, not much of interest happens until Harry and Dumbledore find the third Horcrux (the first two were destroyed before the events of this film), making the film far less investing than it should be. The good news is it does get investing in the third act, where an amazing action scene takes place in a cave with an army of unkillable zombie things, and some pretty cool spells casted by Dumbledore. And after that (SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER) comes the big thing that everyone takes away from the film: SNAPE KILLS DUMBLEDORE. I will actually wait to fully comment on it until I review Deathly Hallows Part II, as the story behind this unfolds at that time, but let's just say that in the confines of this movie, it is shocking and sad.Here comes another problem, and this is a moderate one: The film removes the most emotional moment of the book. Dumbledore's funeral. WHAT? Look, I get it. It's an adaptation. Changes can be made. But this? Seriously? And the scene kind of replacing it of Harry crying over Dumbledore's body while NOBODY ELSE cries just feels... manipulative compared to the book. This was a very bad change.Overall, I still recommend this book wholeheartedly, and I will be seeing it again. Even if it's not as good as the last two installments in my personal opinion.RATING:7/10

'Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (2009)' manages to keep the focus mostly on Hogwarts, giving Harry a mission to accomplish whilst also dedicating significant time to his friends and their teenage troubles, as well as always delivering on the promise of an unseen threat looming close by. Indeed, it's perhaps the darkest in the series so far. This bleak tone is bolstered by a ballsy ending that provides little in the way of levity or triumph. It balances its darkness with some lighter moments peppered throughout that satisfy without overdoing it. The flick is perhaps the most unconventional of the bunch, taking things back to basics with school-life front and centre, and this approach actually pays off while providing a nice counter-point to the two films that follow. 7/10

This is where Harry Potter started to get seriously amazing again like it had with the Prisoner of Azkaban. I loved the book, but Half-Blood Prince nails the dreary, dreamlike atmosphere with a standout soundtrack by Hooper. Visually immersive, this shows what you want in a film adaptation, for it it to have all the cinematic bells and whistles and more. Film has it's own necessities and you simply can't think about the book when judging a film on it's own. You want it to be a complete work of art? Well this film looks like a Rembrandt painting and is perhaps one of the most comfy films ever created.In doing it's own thing, HBP a tone masterpiece and directed much tighter by Yates than Order of the Phoenix, which was also underrated and certainly so being his film debut. The acting is better, the cinematography by Delbonnel is arguably the best. The different ways chosen to light Hogwarts in this installment are very brooding and gives the castle it's own character, almost sticking out in the background a dark mark itself. It swallows the characters in times of stress. The latter third is perfect and the film builds very well, it's almost Harry and everyone's most normal year, yet it slowly goes to hell. I still remember how dire the cave scene felt in theaters. Gambon gives his best performance in the series. This is Fincher on steroids. David Yates has hit his stride.

Hard-core fans of Harry Potter claim that movie franchise started well enough but it goes worse with every new movie. To me, as to someone who did not read the books, it is quite the opposite. Maybe they don't follow books as much as they should, but actors are growing up and acting improves with every movie, story is more and more interesting and directing and effects sustain same good level. Great entertainment for whole family.7,5/10.............................................