MOVIE REVIEW: HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

Six of Seven Cows

It’s nearly pointless to review a Harry Potter movie. Fans of the franchise are going to love the movie regardless of any reviewer’s opinion, and those who haven’t already been lured by the series are not likely to rush to the theater because of any opinion I might have. So, really, why even bother to review Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? The answer is simple: It’s the only movie new to the theaters this week.

            

Admittedly, the whole Harry Potter phenomenon has rather passed me by. I’ve seen one of them, though couldn’t tell you which, and recall enjoying it well enough. Fantasy is a genre that simply doesn’t interest me much. That said, the appeal of this series is easy to understand. These movies are good.

            

 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, like all Potter movies before it, looks terrific, and the special effects are pretty special as well. But this is as much a coming of age movie as there’s ever been, and rides on the strength of it’s characters. I recall being impressed by how well drawn those characters were the first time I saw a Potter movie, and now I am doubly impressed. The three main characters, played by Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, are simply charming. If the whole magic patina of wizards and witches and Hogwarts were wiped away, we’d still be left with a satisfying film about three childhood friends negotiating the hormonal maze of young adulthood. Having the main character, the purported chosen one, drawn as a bit of a dork – as awkward and stutter-prone as any non-chosen one – is the lynchpin of this series’ charm, and a stroke of genius.

             

While the three main characters are impressive, more so is the consistently high-quality of the supporting cast. Too lengthy a roster to list, suffice to say that there’s not a clunker among them. If there’s any flaw in respect to the characters, it’s the oddly-inconsequential appearance of Luna Lovegood, played by Evanna Lynch. Seemingly poised to be Potter’s love interest, she flits through the movie without ever becoming more than an odd chick with a wand.

             

The Harry Potter franchise may go on forever, and if they’re all this good that would not be a bad thing. I wish I’d had as strong a series to follow when I was growing up, but then I’m just a muggle. I give Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince six flying cows.