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Rating: Country: USA Release Date: July 15, 2009 Distributor: Warner Brothers Director: · David Yates Cast: · Daniel Radcliffe · Rupert Grint · Emma Watson · Michael Gambon · Alan Rickman · Jim Broadbent · Bonnie Wright · Tom Felton · Evanna Lynch Related Sites: · SirLinksalot: Harry Potter Links · Read an alternate review by Paulette Suhr Grade: A+

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” might be the best of the phenomenally popular saga. Among the other Harry Potter films, I put it right up there with my other favorites, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” And among the rest of this year’s films so far, I think it’s only rivaled by "Star Trek."

The franchise is fascinating for giving us the opportunity to watch a relatively large group of young actors grow up on the silver screen as much as it is for being a fantasy itself. I can’t think of any other franchise in cinema history that began with a core group of actors not yet in their teens that will eventually come to a close with those same actors in their twenties. It’s rare enough to keep a cast of any size together for over a decade, be it television, film or the stage. But to watch these fine young men and women grow from timid children to awkward adolescents and now, in many cases, to confident adults.

Of course, the film looks fantastic. This episode is more character-driven, but the Quidditch try-outs are still as fun to watch as ever, and the smoky trails left by Harry’s enemies as they streak through the sky have the unmistakable look of something evil. The costuming and sets are still top-notch. But it’s the personalities of the characters that are front stage this time. After the oppressively dark tone of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” is was completely appropriate to slow things down a bit and build upon the characters with humor and drama. As the actors themselves have grown to that age of dating and teenage angst, so to have Hogwart’s brightest. We begin to see Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger act on their slow smoldering crushes that began in earlier installments. We see little Ginny Weasley blossom from the giggling little sister to a tall young woman not afraid to engage in a little secret “snogging” with her brother’s best friend. The comedy and occasional sorrow that accompanies all youthful romantic relationships is well played, and makes “The Half-Blood Prince” perhaps the most accessible of the films to date. The situations are easy to relate too, even when their punctuated by bits of magic. I hate to give away much in the way of plot since I myself, among others no doubt, have not yet read the books. But I am curious to know if the book includes the brief subplot of Harry instilling some confidence in Ron’s Quidditch goaltending ability. When the film hints that Harry gave Ron a shot of “luck potion” I was immediately curious about the analogy to the performance enhancing drugs that dominate the sports pages today. It was these touches, the simple human interactions that we simple humans manage to complicate so much, that made the film so accessible, especially as a Muggle unfamiliar with the source material.

Great characters only come to life when portrayed by great actors, and the Harry Potter franchise has them in spades. Sir Michael Gambon as Headmaster Dumbledore is the personification of what I always imagined a wizard should be when I was a Dungeons and Dragons novice back in the 80s. The scene where Dumbledore launches great gouts of fire at his attackers in a cavern seemed to be plucked right from my childhood imagination. Gambon is joined, as always, by the creepy Severus Snape, played by one of my all-time favorites, Alan Rickman. He reminds me of Vincent Price in a way—they both played great villains who could give you chills without being a screaming mass of rage and gore. Quiet evil is so much more effective! Hogwart’s gets a long lost professor back in their ranks with Jim Broadbent joining the cast and bringing his sizeable talent to the table. His character holds a key to Harry’s destiny, if Harry and Dumbledore can coax it out of him. There is no Lord Voldemort in this installment, but Helena Bonham Carter is on hand to cause trouble as the crazy Bellatrix—then again, Helena Bonham Carter’s characters always seem to be a little crazy. She seems to be perpetually cast in a Tim Burton-style role, no matter who directs.

Making Headlines. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) finds bad news in the Daily Prophet.

Director David Yates has done a great job helming the last three Harry Potter films, and has the remarkable talents of Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Rupert Grint (Ron) and Emma Watson (Hermione) anchoring the more youthful members of the cast. I don’t think there’s anyone who doesn’t know the heroic trio by now. I want to instead shine a little light on some of the other members of the student body at Hogwart’s who were interesting to me. As mentioned before, little Ginny Weasley is all grown up, as Bonnie Wright, the lovely young actress has gone from being barely ten years of age in “The Sorcerer’s Stone” to being a young adult now. When she’s on screen she’s no longer a shy piece of the background; she’s a bigger part of the team now. On the other side, Tom Felton has grown a great deal, as Draco Malfoy has evolved from diminutive pest to six foot-plus menace. His face has matured the most out of anyone in the cast, as Tom resembles a young Jonathan Pryce, which I would consider a positive. And even though she doesn’t get a whole lot of screen time, Evanna Lynch steals every scene she’s in as the loopy but sincere Luna Lovegood. Her appearances always seem refreshing after an exciting bit of sorcery.

I think when it’s all said and done, the Harry Potter films will stand up with some of the greatest film franchises of all time. I would dare say it’s the “Star Wars” of this generation. “The Half-Blood Prince” seems to serve as a welcome rest stop after the high-tension dark magic of “The Order of the Phoenix,” offering a much needed dose of levity, romance and all-around fun to the proceedings as we all prepare for the two-part grand finale in “The Deathly Hallows.” It may be a bit short on slam-bang action, but it more than makes up for it in humor and character development. As Harry, Ron or Hermione might say, “It’s bloody brilliant!”