Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Alan Rickman

Director: David Yates

Rating: Three stars

Audiences have keenly watched young wizard Harry Potter (Radcliffe) growing up since his first on-screen outing in The Philosopher’s Stone (2001). Now, an older and wiser Harry – alongside best friends Hermione Grainger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) – must battle not only with evil, but also their own feelings: Ron and Hermione are beginning to acknowledge their growing attraction to one another, while Harry is equally, and awkwardly, drawn to Ron’s younger sister, Ginny (Bonnie Wright). Meanwhile, a dark pact between Harry’s student nemesis, Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) and sinister teacher Severus Snape (Rickman) threatens the safety of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Based on the penultimate book in J. K. Rowling’s mega-successful series, director David Yates struggles to match the tone of the previous instalment, The Order of the Phoenix, which he also helmed. Despite some stunning setpieces – including a dynamic wand duel in a school toilet that Freud would have had a field day with; and an attack on the Weasley home that ratchets up the tension – the film’s biggest problem is that little of real note happens until the final scenes. The climax, when it comes, is truly touching, but an overlong running time and an overdose of adolescent romance (as well as some uneven acting) detract from what could have been a far stronger movie.