Movie Review: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"

Synopsis: It's Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts, and things are crazier than ever.  With Voldemort alive and on the loose again, the school is not the safe haven it once was, and Dumbledore is preparing Harry for his final battle against the Dark Lord.  Dumbledore's old friend, Professor Slughorn, takes a position at Hogwarts; it turns out Slughorn knew Voldemort when he was still known as Tom Riddle.  What secrets about the Dark Lord's past is Slughorn hiding? Harry also finds an old textbook with annotations by someone known only as the Half-Blood Prince.  Who could this person be? Meanwhile, love is in the air, and new relationships and crushes abound.  It's bound to be Harry's craziest year yet...in many ways.
Based on the book by J.K. Rowling.

The Good: What these films have done well in the past, this one excels at.  It really takes you to another time and place, and you get swept up in the events that unfold.  The special effects are amazing, and all of the actors--young and old--do exceptionally great here.

The Bad: If only it had been truer to the book.  Right from the get-go, we get a scene involving Harry nearly going on a date with a girl at a train station that is nowhere to be found in the original novel.  An action sequence involving Death Eaters causing the Weasley's house to be burned down is completely unique to the film.  Other scenes are out of order, and characters are either omitted (Fleur Delacour) or replaced (Bellatrix instead of Amycus).  Too much time is spent focusing on teen twitterpations and not enough on the core story.  You don't even find out why the Half-Blood Prince calls himself that, as he isn't really a prince.  The makers kind of botched it with this one.

Conclusion: Years ago, a random patron at the library where I work said of this film, "It's not the book."  When I saw it previously, it had been a while since I'd read the original novel, so, I couldn't comment on that front...but, while doing a book/film comparison, I'd say she was right.  Fans of the books are likely to feel alienated by the serious deviations from the source material.  Though good for what it is, this movie pales in comparison to what it could have been.  Oh, well; next up is Deathly Hallows, where things really get crazy.

Score: 3/5