It wasn't until the third Harry Potter movie that they really came out from the shadow of the books. The first two movies were slavishly faithful in replicating JK Rowling's written words. The third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, was the turning point in the series. It was the first one that felt like an original movie and not just an adaptation. With Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the series continues that trend, carrying on the spirit and the general plot of the books, but not being afraid to add new scenes and change others. Certainly this installment ranks as one of the best in the series.
As you may or may not remember, the previous Potter film ended with Harry finding a prophecy that foretold that the only way he or Voldemort could live was for one of them to kill the other. In the process of obtaining the prophecy, Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, was killed and Voldemort's return was revealed to the Wizarding world.
Now, as another year at Hogwarts begins, Harry finds himself referred to as the Chosen One. Together, he and Professor Dumbledore set about learning more about Voldemort's past. Also Harry, Ron and Hermione all do battle with their hormones as each of them develops a crush on someone. Hermione likes Ron, but Ron is off snogging Lavender, so Hermione dates Cormac to make him jealous. Harry likes Ron's sister Ginny, but Ginny is dating Dean and Romilda makes a love potion in an effort to make Harry love her. All of the romantic entanglements make a nice lighter contrast to the darker matters that are taking place in the background.
As always in a Harry Potter movie, a new Professor is introduced. This time around it is Professor Slughorn, played memorably by Jim Broadbent. Slughorn is the new potions master and he's a bit of a social climber. He ingratiates himself with the more well-connected students hoping to extend his social circle to his advantage. He also possesses knowledge that Dumbledore and Harry need, which is up to Harry to wheedle out of him.
The Half-Blood Prince, the book, was most famous for its ending, where (*SPOILER ALERT*), a major character dies and the movie does end with that same death, but with much less of an emotional impact. I've always felt that the actor who plays this character was miscast and that the writers of the movie never really got the character right and this character appears much less in the movies than they do in the books and so has less development. It's still a good ending, but not as an emotional one as it could have been.
Being so familiar with the books, I do wonder if some of the plot elements are explained enough for those who have never read them. I felt in particular that the Horcruxes weren't explained as thoroughly as perhaps they should have been and that the scene in the cave felt rushed.
Although the movie looks amazing and the effects are great, it has always been the characters that give the story its heart. It's good to see that Daniel, Rupert and Emma have grown in their acting ability and they really bring their characters to life. In particular, Emma Watson has improved immensely as Hermione. In some of the earlier films, her acting was a bit stiff and wooden, but she's much better here. The supporting cast is also quite good. Helena Bonham-Carter brings life to Bellatrix and Evanna Lynch is perfectly cast as Luna Lovegood.
If the first two movies in this series had been original movies and not based on wildly popular books, I doubt they'd have been as successful. This one though, stands strongly on its own and is a great movie in its own right and a very worthy entry in the series.
