Well they say time flies when you're having fun. It seems it whizzes by even quicker when you have a full time job and spend all your free time watching or reviewing Harry Potter films. Which is exactly what I have been doing all week.
Tonight was the turn of the sixth film in the series, Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince. **Note that the below synopsis contains spoilers of the previous film!**
Following the murder of Sirius Black, the Ministry of Magic is forced to accept that the dark lord is indeed back. Harry and his friends return to Hogwarts but find it a much changed and graver place than when they left. Harry accompanies Dumbledore as he re-recruits an old Hogwarts teacher, Professor Slughorn (Jim Broadbent), and soon finds that Dumbledore has a mission in store for him. He wants Harry to find out what Professor Slughorn remembers about the time he taught Tom Riddle. Ron gets onto the Quidditch team and bags himself a girlfriend, which forces Hermione to confront her feelings for him. And Harry and Ginny finally share their first kiss. So it's all going to end happily this year, right? Wrong! But I shall say no more in case one of the five people in the world who haven't seen Harry Potter or read the books happens to be reading this.
I hadn't seen this Harry Potter film since I saw it at the cinema two years ago (terrible behaviour really as I do own the DVD). But if anything, the lack of time spent with this film only made it more enjoyable to watch it again, as some parts I couldn't remember at all. Meaning it was almost like seeing a new film. One with lots of surprises.
And one of the things that surprised me most was how much I really like Half-Blood Prince. I didn't remember liking it as much last time around. Not that I disliked it of course, I just couldn't remember having as much of a connection to it as I did tonight. Without spoiling, all I will say is that I was very teary at the end. Something I definitely wasn't when I saw this two years ago. Maybe it's how close I feel I've grown to these characters in the last few days. Watching them every night for a week I do now feel that I know them all very intimately.
The other thing that struck me was how much comedy there is in this one despite how dark it's all becoming. Don't get me wrong, there are moments in this film that are so very sad and even moments that show true evil, but in spite of this, there are still moments of joy and laughter. And without those moments - Luna dressed as a Lion and (practically) a Christmas tree in the same film, Ron's disaster with a love potion, Hermione's incredulity over Harry being better at a class than she is - this would be a film which is full of nothing but darkness and despair. And no-one wants to sit through 3 hours of that.
To an outsider this is a series of books and films about a boy wizard and his nemesis. Yet to those who've read the books and seen the films, it's a story of friendships forged and fierce loyalties. The enduring love and support the characters provide each other is what truly shines through. This is what makes this one of the most cherished literary works of our time.
Possibly my second favourite Potter. Up to now anyway. 9 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 13th July 2011
UK Release Date - 15th July 2009
Cast Overview:
Daniel Radcliffe ~ Harry Potter
Rupert Grint ~ Ron Weasley
Emma Watson ~ Hermione Granger
Matthew Lewis ~ Neville Longbottom
Evanna Lynch ~ Luna Lovegood
Tom Felton ~ Draco Malfoy
Devon Murray ~ Seamus Finnigan
Freddie Stroma ~ Cormac McLaggen
Jessie Cave ~ Lavender Brown
James Phelps ~ Fred Weasley
Oliver Phelps ~ George Weasley
Bonnie Wright ~ Ginny Weasley
Julie Walters ~ Molly Weasley
Mark Williams ~ Arthur Weasley
Helena Bonham Carter ~ Bellatrix Lestrange
Helen McCrory ~ Narcissa Malfoy
Timothy Spall ~ Wormtail
Michael Gambon ~ Professor Albus Dumbledore
Maggie Smith ~ Professor Minerva McGonagall
Alan Rickman ~ Professor Severus Snape
Jim Broadbent ~ Professor Horace Slughorn
Warwick Davis ~ Professor Filius Flitwick
David Thewlis ~ Professor Remus Lupin
Natalia Tena ~ Nymphadora Tonks
Robbie Coltrane ~ Rubeus Hagrid
David Bradley ~ Argus Filch
Director ~ David Yates
Writer(s) ~ J.K. Rowling (Novel) and Steve Kloves (Screenplay)
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