A Penultimate Installment

As a true-blue member of the 'Harry Potter generation' (having grown up with the books and usually being about the same age as the characters... i even remember hoping that when i turned eleven i'd get a letter from Hogwarts!), I really enjoyed Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Of course, it's nowhere near as good as the book, but that's to be expected with any movie adaptation of a best-selling novel. As far as movie adaptations go, i thought it was good, and better than the previous movies. There was a good mix of talking, problem solving and fight scenes. Furthermore, there was more humour in this movie than in the previous ones. I think the movie did a fairly good job of sticking to the story. Granted, lots was left out, but that's to be expected considering the length of the novel. I hadn't read the book in awhile, so wasn't hung up on everything that was missed out, and i think that the movie had a fairly good continuity (though some may not agree).

The actors, while still not of an excellent calibre, have definitely improved. Emma Watson (Hermione) is gorgeous and did a great job. And Daniel Radcliff (Harry!) did a hilarious job of acting as though he was under the influence of Liquid Luck. The character hired to play Professor Slughorn wasn't exactly as i'd pictured him, but i really liked his portrayal. The people who played the young Tom Riddle were good too, creepy and just as i'd imagined.

I think a big part of determining whether a movie is enjoyable or not depends on the people that you see it with, and the rest of the people in the cinema. When i saw the movie for the first time, it was with the girls who were equally over excited about seeing it. The rest of the cinema laughed along with us frequently, and everyone jumped a mile when the zombie hands shot out of the water during the dramatic scene towards the end of the movie. When Dumbledore fell to his death, there were more than a few people drying their eyes. There was an excellent feel to the place. The second time i saw it, the people in the cinema were far less emotive and involved; there were very few laughs and reactions from the crowd, especially compared to the first time i saw it. The difference in the people that i saw the movie made a huge difference to how much i enjoyed it; the first time was definitely the best!!

Overall, i thought the movie was really good. As i said, movie adaptations are never as good as the original novels, but this was very good as far as they go - in my opinion at least. I definitely reccomend seeing it as soon as possible!