Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince (2009)

"Once again I must ask too much of you Harry."

The table is largely set; the last few pieces moving into place. With Half-Blood Prince, the Potter franchise is rounding third, heading home.

** I will be openly discussing spoilers for the plot of this film. I try my best NOT to spoil major plot turns, but a discussion of this film, and its importance, is impossible without addressing a key plot turn. So, ya know, proceed at your own risk **

Summary:

The Wizardng World can no longer deny the return of He Who Must Not Be Named, seeing as he showed up in the Ministry of Magic and tried to murder a bunch of kids. Harry and his friends, fresh from that dust-up with the dark lord, must return to school. Dumbledore has a special mission for Harry, too: there's a new Potions Master at Hogwarts, and he has key information that may help The Order defeat Voldemort. Harry's going to have to get that information, at all costs.

Pros:

Dumbledore: Schemer: Dumbledore is at his most canny in this movie. Michael Gambon plays this Dumbledore rather well. It is hard to see how Richard Harris' kindly grandfather would have settled into the role of a grown man manipulating children to do his bidding. But Gambon has been imbuing his Dumbledore with darkness at the edges since he stepped into the role, and the enormity of what Dumbledore hopes to accomplish is starting to, now, become clear. Harry is a pawn in his game. An important pawn. A pawn he cares for deeply. But still a piece in a chessgame. By the end of the film, when Dumbledore takes Harry with him to destroy a horcrux, he says, "Once again I must ask too much of you, Harry." Yeah, man you've been asking a shit load of this kid for six movies, now. So why have I mentioned Dumbledore being a relentless schemer in the "Pros" section? Because I love the way that it subverts the Magic Mentor archetype from most fantasy films. Dumbledore is kind, yes, but he can also be callously calculating when he needs to be. It is important for us to see that is necessary, and the dangers that attitude wreaks. Harry, in his own way, has been manipulated by Dumbledore, from the beginning. It's something that will be explored more in the next two films, but the conflict within Harry is started, here.

Redemption: Through various flashbacks, the film shows us that Harry is a kind of redemptive figure for both Dumbledore and the new Potions Master, Horace Slughorn (played by Jim Broadbent). Both men have history with Tom Riddle, and both men played a key role in his development as a wizard. Harry bears many striking resemblances to young Riddle. Both men see Harry as an opportunity to "get it right." To ease their own consciences. Broadbent plays the silliness of a man who "collects" bright young wizards with verve, but effortlessly transitions into the deep maw of sadness at the man's core. He was the one, you see, that told Tom about Horcruxes. He told him the dire secret to pulling off that magic. He's hidden that knowledge, out of deep, and understandable, shame. By the time he gives Harry the memory (wizards can do that), he implores Harry not to judge him too harshly. Broadbent is one of the best actors to bring in for such a role: his range is such that he can believably play a fame-obsessed, self-important cad with enough pathos and energy that demands sympathy when you learn his secret. Oh, and unliked Gilderoy Lockhart, Slughorn is the real deal: he is a powerful and capable wizard in his own right.

Beautiful: I'll discuss a minor problem with the color-grading later, but the overall cinematography in this film is gorgeous. The angles are dynamic, well-balanced, and pretty as a painting. Bruno Delbonnel makes this a beautiful movie indeed.

Felix Felicis: Amidst all of its darkness, the film manages to have some great fun, apparent nowhere like the Felix Felicis sequence. Felix Felicis is a luck potion that Harry acquires from Slughorn as a prize. It gives whoever drinks it incredible luck and intuition, and a kind of drunken demeanor. What results is Harry mistakenly running into Slughorn and Hagrid, and the three sharing a drink (it's more complicated than that, but this explanation will do). At the end of their mini adventure, Slughorn gives Harry that key memory that Dumbledore is after. But not before Daniel Radcliff gets to have immeasurable fun portraying the cock-sure, laissez-faire, slightly intoxicated effects of Felix Felicis. The sequence both acts to let the dramatic steam out a bit, but also to explain the acquisition of a key plot point to move the film forward. I liked it. I enjoyed it.

Lore and Backstory: We get oodles of both. We get flashes of both Dumbledore's past with Tom Riddle and Snape's time at school. The gaps in the history of the wizarding world get filled a little, and it shows just how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Quidditch!: Quidditch comes back, in thrilling fashion in this film. The sequence is awesome, well shot, and exciting. This is the last film to feature Quidditch, however.

Maturation: Each movie marks the young actors' evolution in their craft. None more so, in this film, than Emma Watson and Tom Felton. Watson handles her arc wonderfully; her frustration with Ron and Harry shining through in a lovely way. Felton's Draco Malfoy is finally playing something other than a smirking dickwad: he has been tasked with a great responsibility, and it weighs on him. Draco's struggle permeates every second of Felton's performance.

Where Were You When Dumbledore Died?: Half-Blood Prince features one of the series' most heartbreaking deaths (don't worry, we still have miles to go before we sleep). I remember exactly where I was when I read it in the novel: I was working at a scout camp, trying to get one last chapter in before a staff vs campers volleyball game. I finished that chapter, and immediately had to hit the sand and play fucking volleyball. It wrecked me. It still stings, all these years later, and the film does the moment justice. And do you know WHY this moment works? Do you know why this Death of the Mentor archetype that is so fucking prevalent in fantasy fiction is so potent? They EARNED it. Dumbledore has been with us for six films. He's been Harry's compass and guardian. He recently went toe-to-toe with the darkest wizard who ever darked. And he gets knocked off so late in the story, that the storytellers very nearly had you convinced he was going to be there til the end. Dumbledore's death is powerful, also, because he does not pull a Gandalf: he dies, and stays dead. No take-backs.

Cons:

Sectumsempra: So, Harry learns a new offensive spell, and uses it, sight unseen, against Draco Malfoy after the two get into a fight in the bathroom. It turns out that the spell literally slashes open your opponent's skin, and will, without help, cause them to bleed out. In the film, Harry unleashes this terrible fury on Malfoy... and then... nothing happens to him. I understand that the film needs to move and has a lot of ground to cover, but... like... Harry nearly killed a kid at school. Doesn't even get detention? The first time in the series he would, ya know, actually deserve it.

Watching These Kids is Painful: They are all stumbling around, soaked in hormones, trying to figure out who likes who and who's really a friend: it's exhausting. It's realistic, don't get me wrong. But it still makes me face-palm.

Dark... Like, Literally Dark: There were times where the film gets so dark that it is legitimately hard to see. I understand the idea of allowing the color scheme and quality of the film to reflect the emotional stakes of the film, but, shit, I couldn't see some stuff.

Snape Was a Great Teacher: One of the greatest sins this movie commits is its refusal to show us Snape's turn as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. In the novel, he is very good at it, if brutal. He wants the kids to learn non-verbal casting, which will allow them to sling spells at their enemies without ceding a tactical advantage: if you can hear what spell your enemy is casting, it is easier to counter it, etc. In the film, Snape finally gets the position he's been jockeying for for six films... and doesn't really get any attention. That sucks.

In Conclusion:

This is far from the best film in the series. It aint at the bottom, though. There are enough key, emotional plot turns and world-building moments to really save it from being a complete mess. Even though it suffers a bit from Goblet of Fire syndrome: it feels a bit like someone trying, in a mad dash, to get as much story told as possible, and that lends it an unfocused feel. But, by its end, we are ready for the one-two punch of Deathly Hallows.

Should You Watch It?

You've come this far. Only an asshole would quit now.

Miscellany:

- Actor Robert Knox, who played Marcus Belby, was stabbed to death in a bar in London mere days after filming wrapped.

- Dame Maggie Smith was on radiation therapy for breast cancer during the filming of this movie.
- Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Ralph Fiennes nephew, was cast to play young Tom Riddle.
- This is Daniel Radcliffe's least favorite of his own performances. He called it "hard to watch" in a 2014 interview.
- Warner Bros. were apparently not pleased with the color-grading of the film and asked Yates and cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel to add more color to it. They acquiesced, and the film would go on to be the only Potter film to be nominated for Best Cinematography at the Academy Awards. I told you it was hard to see, dammit. Interestingly, Wally Pfister, frequent Christopher Nolan collaborator, and master cinematographer, was asked to work on this film. He turned it down, as he was working on The Dark Knight at the time.
- Emma Watson considered quitting acting, and was not sure she would return for this film.
- Bill Nighy was cast as newly minted Minster of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, but there was no room for him in the film. He would make his debut in Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
- Terry Gilliam, one of JK Rowling's preferences to direct the first Potter film, was approached to direct this movie. He said, "Warner Bros had their chance the first time around, and they blew it."
- This is Rowling's favorite of the film adaptations.
- There are more Tom Riddle flashbacks in the book, one explaining how Riddle, then calling himself Voldemort, cursed the Defence Against the Dark Arts position, after being rejected by Dumbledore. These were cut from the script for time.