Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (12A.)
Directed by David Yates.
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent. 153 mins.
Last week a friend asked me when all the big summer blockbusters were coming out and had to explain to him that, with regard to the summer, it ends here. It’s not been a happy season and Potter 6 is as good a film as we’ve seen this summer.
Harry Potters are much like Dan Browns - they are books that need to be made in to films for business, even though they are books that have no business being made into films. These unwieldy combinations of Tom Brown’s Schooldays and Lord of the Rings still don’t sit comfortably on the screen but this is probably the best one so far, or at least the first one that I actually enjoyed.
Of course, if you are not onboard by now it is too late to start; the Harry Potter franchise is no longer touting for new business. In the first four films there was some sense of exploration and variation as they tried to feel their way to an understanding with the audience. Now though the franchise has decided to stick with what it’s got and David Yates has been charged with riding it through to the finale - a two part adaptation of the last book to come in the next two years.
The last Potter was a meagre little thing, a bare bones telling with a bit of flash in the finale. The new one is a quarter of an hour longer but feels much weightier, much more substantial, while Amelie cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel has made this the visually appealing of the series.
After a film off, scriptwriter Steve (The Fabulous Baker Boys) Kloves returns to the thankless task of adapting. He really can’t win – fans will bleat on about all the favourite bits he’s left out, yet there’s actually precious little plot to get through. The whole film boils down to an attempt to get some information out of a new teacher Mr Slughorn (Broadbent.) The usual way to advance the narrative is to have Potter overhear some vital bit of info while hiding in the shadows. The whole series has fallen into an epic holding pattern, slowly revolving as we pass the time until the big showdown with Vordemort.
Like Imelda Staunton in the last one, Broadbent is an excellent addition and Gambon remains a steady incarnation of Gandalf. But it’s the kids’ film. You have to respect Radcliffe – a nerdy, swotty, four eyed, Harry Enfield look-alike who is always Yes Sir, No Sir, Three Bags Full Sir, around the headmaster, Potter is not an immediately sympathetic character, but he keeps him likeable.
Directed by David Yates.
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent. 153 mins.
Last week a friend asked me when all the big summer blockbusters were coming out and had to explain to him that, with regard to the summer, it ends here. It’s not been a happy season and Potter 6 is as good a film as we’ve seen this summer.
Harry Potters are much like Dan Browns - they are books that need to be made in to films for business, even though they are books that have no business being made into films. These unwieldy combinations of Tom Brown’s Schooldays and Lord of the Rings still don’t sit comfortably on the screen but this is probably the best one so far, or at least the first one that I actually enjoyed.
Of course, if you are not onboard by now it is too late to start; the Harry Potter franchise is no longer touting for new business. In the first four films there was some sense of exploration and variation as they tried to feel their way to an understanding with the audience. Now though the franchise has decided to stick with what it’s got and David Yates has been charged with riding it through to the finale - a two part adaptation of the last book to come in the next two years.
The last Potter was a meagre little thing, a bare bones telling with a bit of flash in the finale. The new one is a quarter of an hour longer but feels much weightier, much more substantial, while Amelie cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel has made this the visually appealing of the series.
After a film off, scriptwriter Steve (The Fabulous Baker Boys) Kloves returns to the thankless task of adapting. He really can’t win – fans will bleat on about all the favourite bits he’s left out, yet there’s actually precious little plot to get through. The whole film boils down to an attempt to get some information out of a new teacher Mr Slughorn (Broadbent.) The usual way to advance the narrative is to have Potter overhear some vital bit of info while hiding in the shadows. The whole series has fallen into an epic holding pattern, slowly revolving as we pass the time until the big showdown with Vordemort.
Like Imelda Staunton in the last one, Broadbent is an excellent addition and Gambon remains a steady incarnation of Gandalf. But it’s the kids’ film. You have to respect Radcliffe – a nerdy, swotty, four eyed, Harry Enfield look-alike who is always Yes Sir, No Sir, Three Bags Full Sir, around the headmaster, Potter is not an immediately sympathetic character, but he keeps him likeable.
