Review: “Half-Blood Prince” is the Best “Harry Potter” Movie So Far

You have to give the creators of the Harry Potter movies credit: they learn from their mistakes.

The Harry Potter movie franchise has been notoriously hit-and-miss, from the sublime (Prisoner of Azkaban) to the disappointing (Philosopher’s Stone and Goblet of Fire).

I can only imagine the pressure these filmmakers are under: legions of adoring book fans often want to see the on-screen story exactly as they’ve read it on the page.

But with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth movie in the series, the producers have realized that it’s far more important to have a coherent, engaging movie than it is to be entirely faithful to the books.

That being the case, the movie takes some major liberties with the book, and makes some major edits.

The result is the best Harry Potter movie so far, by far. And for the record, it completely captures the “essence” of the book (which is one of the series best).

But just as important as what got left out of the movie is what they kept in.

Half-Blood Prince concerns itself with teen love – mostly unrequited teen love. Sometimes it gets a little earnest and simplistic (as in the books), but for the most part, it’s quite touching to watch.

Better still, the movie avoids making its heroes the usual cocky, arrogant ***holes I’m so used to seeing in most movies and on television.

J.K. Rowling’s teenagers are thoughtful, articulate, and sensitive. When a female approaches a dinner table, Harry stands up!

“You’re kind,” Dumbledore tells Harry, “a trait people repeatedly undervalue.”

This is one part of J.K. Rowling’s books that the movie is extremely faithful to, and it’s impossible to overstate how appealing it is, especially in a summer filled with frighteningly banal reality TV shows like Bravo’s NYC Prep and soul-less movies like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Because of its characters, Half-Blood Prince has an old-fashioned, yet timeless feel.

Are teenagers really like this? Actually, plenty are, at least in my experience. And the success of the Harry Potter books and movies suggests that plenty of other teenagers are drawn to characters such as these.