Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - 2009

For the 6th and almost penultimate Harry Potter I had actually read the book. This was then the first film in the franchise in which I knew the outcome and, perhaps for this reason The Half Blood Prince was the most dissapointing film in the franchise thus far. The problems are numerous and only redeemed by a scene stealing note perfect performance from Horace Slughorn, the improving acting skills of Radcliffe, Watson and Grint - as well as the inclusion of my favourite character from the franchise - Luna Lovegood (the excellent Evanna Lynch).

The main problem is that in HBP Harry doesn't seem to have a goal, or anything to achieve until almost half way through the film. What is more baffling is that the book gives him a clear goal early on which is included in the film, but is never made explicit, and certainly never pushed to the fore in the way it should have been. Fans of Order of the Phoenix criticised the film for cutting so much, yet the film stood up because Harry is given a clear goal, and the story centres purely on the spine of the story. HBP has too many plots which become integral and as such none of them become prominent enough. The film has Harry flitting off with Dumbledore to see the past of Tom Riddle, but we do not find out why until right near the very end - and even then, the significance of the memories is never once elaborated upon. Draco, performed admirably by Tom Felton, especially considering most of his scenes involve sniffling, crying or just running off, is given a mission by the Dark Lord and blessed, or cursed, with the mark of Death Eater. It's here the film falls down. Barely featuring in Order, Draco becomes integral in Blood Prince, and in the book Harry becomes consumed with discovering what he is up to. This should have been Harry's goal in the film, but it gets neither enough screen time, or development. And we never sense how alone Harry feels in his suspicions.

You could argue the reason for this is the films leaning toward the emotional, and relatiosnhip developments between the young cast, and although this does detract from the main plot, and never feels like it is going anywhere, these scenes ultimately end up being the most satisfying. What makes Rowling's tomes so enjoyable, and so intriguing is that these characters must deal with great evil and constant peril, whilst also coming to terms with puberty and burgeoning hormones. Since Goblet of Fire, this has become one of the main elements of the films and is most successful here.

Unfortunately this only stands to highlight how bad the rest of the film is. A number of key, chilling scenes from the book are ruined, squandered or exorcised completely. Three scenes in particular were devestatingly bad considering their importance in the greater arc, especially the ending. Never before have I been so bitterly dissapointed with the handling of the death of a major character. Not only was this underwhelming, but they tried to give the character more dignity, therefore undermining some major revelations in the final book.

Credit must go to the look of the film, the sweeping shots of Hogwarts, and the vision of the film are nothing less than spectacular, but it says a lot about a film when the best thing is the way it looks.

I've tried not to go into too much detail here, as with a film of the nature of Harry Potter, you really don't want to get bogged down in specifics as we'd be here all day. However, I would say that the most enjoyable action sequence in the film doesn't actually appear in the book, but I would have happily sacrificed this scene for a more drawn out, suspenseful third act, rather than the rushed version we got. Like Goblet of Fire, a lot of scenes felt like they had been cut to keep the running time down.

For a film based on one of the most exciting and gripping books of the series, the film fails mainly because there is no spine to the story and Harry spends most of it as a passive character, never commiting to a purpose or goal until near the end. Too many great scenes from the book are changed or portrayed poorly, and for a film about magic, evil dark lords and the rising challenge which has to be faced, its a shame that the love stories were more engaging, engrossing and entertaining than anything else in the film, except Jim Broadbent who stole the show.

The film seems neither for fans of the books, who will be annoyed and dissapointed, or non fans who will spend most of the film confused at all the little nods to the fanbase. A rather poor entry in the franchise which may be the weakest thus far. Here's hoping Deathly Hallows ends on a resounding high.