Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

​As the series nears its end, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince establishes just how much darker the journey of the title character can be. Now, that isn’t to say the artistic quality ever improves, because this movie, in particular, suffers too much from awkward love subplots and a lack of chemistry between the teen actors. However, the dramatic spectacle is a massive improvement from the five preceding films, starting with the destruction of the Millennium Bridge. From there, each scene is its own contained showcase of miraculous designs married with groundbreaking visual effects. One of the standouts to demonstrate the VFX work and design work coming together is Fred and George Weasley’s joke shop, which is packed full of delightful detail after delightful detail.
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The costumes also are constructed with much care and attention to detail to make everything about the wearer’s personality instantly recognizable. Those types of costumes are most apparent in the wardrobes of Professor Slughorn and Luna Lovegood, who ironically are the film’s two most impressionable characters. To add to the escalating challenges of filming these movies, much of the cast, particularly Rupert Grint, had to go through more physical training than ever before. With the cast and crew’s toilsome efforts to create something truly special, the two-part series finale now has a glorious red carpet rolled out for its entrance, in turn setting the stage for the standard all other tentpole blockbusters must meet.

PG-13 (LV)
Fantasy
2 hr. 33 min.

Watch it for FUN.
​Watch it to feel HAPPY and AFRAID.