Atomic Team Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

PHILIP BARRETT: The beauty of the Harry Potter films is that as the actors have aged, their talents have vastly improved. It’s been a nice thing to watch especially for someone like me who’s not exactly a fan of Harry Potter. Regardless, they’re exceptionally made films that feature great fantasy and incredible special effects. Certainly the series isn’t terrible but it’s just one of those that never captivated me like Batman or Star Wars. With this in mind, I liked, didn’t love the new Harry Potter.

MICHAEL DENNOS: I’m a die-hard Potter fan myself.  I’ve read the books and seen the movies countless times, so I walked into Half-Blood Prince with high expectations.  What a delight it was to find that Half-Blood Prince excels above and beyond any of the previous installments and takes its well-deserved crown as Best Potter Movie to Date.  Everything about this film won me over; from its beautiful cinematography, delicately woven storytelling and its extremely heartfelt performances.  David Yates and company deserve a resounding round of applause for this simply magical accomplishment that is easily one of the best of the year.

MATTHEW SNIDER: I would agree with Phil about the actors aging well. Both their looks and their skills have grown in many different ways. Their acting is more believable for such a stretch of a world in which they live. The sixth installment by far is head and shoulders above the rest of the series. This hits on so many different points and doesn’t grow old at all. This would be in the top 2 films of the year so far for me, possibly in slot number 1!

PHILIP: And as much as you agree with me, I would agree with Michael that the cinematography is spectacular. Dozens of times in this film it was as if one gazes upon the Mona Lisa or any of the works by Michelangelo. Take for instance the opening scene where the Death Eaters tear through London. It’s a beautiful and thrilling sequence that feels like an amusement park ride, and I mean that in the best way. I was afraid the film would have a very washed out blue and green look to it, but thankfully this is one of the best looking films of the year. Hogwarts has seriously never looked better.

MATTHEW: I cannot disagree at all. The photography, the direction – all of it was breathtaking. I even loved some of the harsher transitions from a dark place at Hogwarts to a barren snowy train ride. The over all feel of the film was a big WOW. The look and feel was something I would possibly put in Baz Lurhman’s hands. Well close enough. I am looking forward to this on Blu-Ray in all its glory and it just hit theaters yesterday!

MICHAEL: Indeed, I was mesmerized by the look of this film.  David Yates and his cinematographer Bruno Delbonel provide an intoxicating look into the world of Harry Potter, and I’m not afraid to say that it just might be Oscar-worthy.  But I want to get back to the acting for a bit.  Yes, by now the trio have obviously grown comfortable in their respective roles and it shows.  Emma Watson especially gives a very tender and compassionate performance as her character Hermione has to contend with her growing feelings for Ron.  Which brings me to the romance in the film; even though I don’t agree with the pairings J.K. Rowling chose, I must concede that in this film they are handled with extreme care and end up feeling very authentic.  Kudos to screenwriter Steve Kloves for making me forget my Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione skepticism for 2 1/2 hours.

PHILIP: I know both Michael and Matthew will discuss how great it is (and they should, the film is by no means terrible) but I want to discuss some things I felt hurt the movie. Now heed my warning for die hard fans, I am not saying this movie sucks as again, I did like it and will watch it again come IMAX. However, the last hour or so drags on. I get that this installment is a giant set up for the last two films but it deserved more of a climax. Without any real spoilers, the ending doesn’t have too much of a build-up to a pretty huge event in the series. Maybe this is more my fault that the film’s, but I expected a little more than what was given.

MATTHEW: I agree with this, this is the one thing lacking in the film. The ending was just that an ending. It just stopped. Nothing huge that happened besides the obvious, but it just sort of trailed off with a storyline waiting to be finished. Phil is correct though, the next step is on to Book 7, a two part film, coming to us in 2010 and early 2011. I by no means want to write this off as a reason not to see this film, but it does bring up the question of “I just sat through this entire movie for this?”. While this is a question that I am sure some will have, the die hard fan will ask this question “Why do I have to wait till November 2010 to see his continue?”. Hang tight the last 35 minutes or so as the movie is well worth it, even if just to watch Hermione and her new found love for Ron bubble up.

MICHAEL: Well, the lack of a climax was intentional.  The producers felt like since Deathly Hallows has a penultimate battle inside Hogwarts, much like the climax of the HBP novel, they didn’t want to repeat themselves.  Personally, I see their point and the ending still worked for me.  It put more focus on the characters and their emotions, and the scene that deals with the immediate aftermath of a main character’s death has to be the most emotionally wrenching scene in the film series thus far.  And in regards to the running time, it certainly felt like 2 1/2 hours, but not once was i thinking ‘Oh, they could’ve trimmed this”, but I guess that’s my Potterphobia showing.  Fellow fans will be too enraptured in the film’s events to worry about length.

PHILIP: For what the film is and being marketed as, we need that pay off though. It might have been intentional, but even Two Towers graced us with a giant battle at Helms Deep to at least keep things moving. Now again, I’ve never read the books but another thing that was troublesome is that the movie doesn’t focus on the Half-Blood Prince. There’s no reveal of who or what he is other than a throwaway line at the end. It’s still a shock, but the other films still made time for character moments while still pushing forward “We have to find the Sorcerer’s Stone” or “We must get to the Chamber of Secrets.” Here, the Half-Blood Prince just drops out of the narrative for no particular reason other than the story calls for him so Harry can get close to Professor Slughorn.

MICHAEL: Ah, I knew that would be brought up.  Yes, if I had to pick one thing to complain about the most, it’s the fact that the Half-Blood Prince is given a secondary narrative focus.  At least the book constantly reminded us we needed to be working out the mystery of who the Half-Blood Prince is.  But again, I want to discuss the acting, particularly the grown-ups.  Michael Gambon is absolutely riveting as Dumbledore this time around.  Fans will no doubt know what happens in his character’s arc, and thankfully, Gambon more than delivers.  Then there’s Alan Rickman as the sniveling Snape; Rickman has always brought this sardonic air to the character that I just love and in this film, he’s given much more to do.  Personally, I hung on to every pause between words and devoured every subtle facial expression. And this film’s new face is Jim Broadbent as Horace Slughorn, the new teacher with a fetish for cozying up to popular students in order to score some popularity points in the Wizard world.  Quite frankly, Broadbent captures the spirit of Slughorn perfectly and slips into the role with natural ease.

MATTHEW: That really wasn’t in the forefront of my mind to be honest. Yes the movie is named this, named after the book with it in it’s title, but I wasn’t needing to find out who the Half-Blood Prince was. Even after the revealing of who it was, without reading the books, it only leaves more questions. On to the acting, you have so many good performances in this film it’s hard to complain about any one. The acting of the newest addition to the teaching team at Hogwarts by Jim Broadbent was fabulous. Radcliffe and Watson also put in great performances and rarely let me loose focus on the film itself. Michael hit Rickman on the head – his pausing is awesome! The way he brings Professor Snape to life is brilliant and gets better with each passing film. Watch the movie but also make sure to see the performances along with it

MICHAEL: And before i forget them: Tom Felton and Jessie Cave.  Felton really surprised me; he gets to show off his true acting chops as Malfoy here as his character is given a mission by the Dark Lord and starts to tread the thin line between doubt and allegiance.  Jessie Cave, well, she is wonderful as Ron’s leech-like girlfriend Lavender Brown.  She provides a lot of the film’s comic relief and successfully convinces you that she’s a dim-witted ditz concerned only with making Ron’s lips chap from so much kissing.

PHILIP: Rickman is just gold in whatever he does, although I keep waiting for Harry Potter and the Die Hard. Seriously though, Gambon has really made this role his own and is on par, if not better than the late Richard Harris. He never feels like a creepy pedophile but someone who does love Harry as a son and wants to watch over him. Equally as tremendous is Jim Broadbent as Horace Slughorn. He doesn’t ham it up but feels like a real person amidst all of this fantasy. The leads though have come into their own and really make this whole thing effortless now. Where before they had trouble balancing humor and character, now the transition is flawless. Even Tom Felton, who bothered me to no degree in the previous installments, finally shows his stuff and delivers.

MICHAEL: And speaking of comic relief, this Harry Potter film is the most humorous.  Most of the first two hours is replete with perfect, well-timed comedy.  This is the most I’ve ever laughed during a Potter film, and it seems appropriate since Half-Blood Prince is basically the calm before the storm that is Deathly Hallows.  Unlike Transformers 2, where most of the humor was very forced most of the time, the humor in Harry Potter is woven naturally into the film.  Particular scenes of note include any scene with Lavender, Ron’s unfortunate overdose of love potion and Harry’s hour of pure luck by way of Felix Felicis, not to mention countless perfectly-delivered one-liners.

MATTHEW: Well said, a great combo between drama and comedy. Great job on the balancing.

PHILIP: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is not perfect, and I can see where fans will likely be disappointed with it. With that in mind, none should come away hating the film as it doesn’t resemble anything terrible. The film works in a lot of spots and is even outright brilliant at times, with some gorgeous visuals and special effects that are second only to the giant robots. Like the series, the film is a wonderful achievement that deserves the attention it will likely get from everyone. Certainly it’s debatable if it was worth the wait, but overall everyone delivered a solid entry into the franchise. Bring on the finale.

MATTHEW: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince comes close to movie of the year for me. A great balancing act of comedy and drama, superb acting by all involved, and a great behind-the-camera force, all adds up to a great movie. While a tad long, I have nothing to be negative about after watching this movie. I would love to be able to watch it again and again as I am sure the 2nd and 3rd runs will work just fine. If you are a lover of the books or like me, a lover of them movies, you won’t be disappointed. This is the best of the series so far and I look forward to be once again amazed with the 2 part finale coming in the next few years!

MICHAEL: What I’m about to say is something you hear every time a new Potter film is released, but I haven’t said this since Prisoner of Azkaban, so here it is: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the best in the series so far.  Sure, there are the usual changes from the book but his is the first time I’ve ever been completely fine with them.  David Yates has certainly grown more confident in his work since Order of the Phoenix, and I can’t wait to see how he handles Deathly Hallows.  Sporting great cinematography, intense action, superb acting and flawless special effects, Half-Blood Prince might just be (my Potterphobia be damned) my favorite movie so far this year.  What a terrific movie.  Transformers, your time is up.

Philip’s Grade =