Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince

When Dumbledore died, and all the wizards and witches raised their wands in respect towards their slain leader, I could feel the hair on the back of my neck standing up, goosebumps everywhere and even felt a shudder. Before you Potter maniacs begin to warm up to this review, let me clarify that all those feelings were due to the ridiculously low temperature settings of the AC. The movie was anything but that good.

Oops my bad. If ever there was a spoiler that was one. Seriously though, those who don’t know that fact before going to the movie shouldn’t be the least bit bothered about reading it here before watching the movie. It’s not as if I revealed the identity of Keysersoze or updated the living status of Bruce Willis.

There was not enough action. The few depictions of anything evil/scary/good vs bad confrontations were well done, but they failed to maximise that potential by instead opting to dwell more on adolescent awkward humor. The humor would have been decent had it been just an ordinary muggle movie but it’s Potter for Voldemort’s sake. Bring in the dark elements and unleash unspeakable pains on the helpless for crying out loud.

Bellatrix was as charming as Capt. Jack Sparrow in the few scenes that she was in. Evil witches are, traditionally speaking, not described as charming but shw was. In the absence of Voldemort, the movie sorely missed a formidable evil presence. Of course there was Draco looming on every balcony and in every last shot of a scene but that was more like a promise never kept.

There’s no fight even towards the end when Dumbledore dies.  Maybe Rowling didn’t pen a fight, but the director should have known better and scripted one for the sake of the movie adaptation.

Having said that all, the movie has been well received by both fans and critics all over the world. Not enough villainy and wham-bham made it a mediocre outing for me.