The hype has returned.
Some question as to whether or not it really ever went away, but there’s nothing like seeing an explosion of fresh, raw thrill across an abnormally anxious fandom. It’s been 2 years since J.K. Rowling released the final installment in the beloved series, and likewise, since Order of the Phoenix came out in the movie industry. For some Potter fans, a 2 year wait (at the time, it was only about a year and a half) until the next piece of Potter, was long enough for them to seek otherwise entertainment franchise in the meantime. Warner Brothers watched as rage erupted across millions of fans when news of their shocking statement, carrying news of an 8 month push-back for the anticipated film. Adults and children alike lined up at theatres on opening day, carrying their wands, wearing their T-shirts or Hogwarts attire, or even just a mile wide smile, if nothing else. Most found it nothing less than altogether spectacular.
When I first sat down to write this review, I had to dig for the critic in me in order to prevent seeming foolishly giddy. Having read the book, and being a fan of it, there are certain differences, which I would only consider because I read the book. Movies don’t ever live up to the books, but I think Half-Blood Prince may have come considerably close.
There are quite a few characters I was rather impressed with in the movie. Slughorn is definitely the number 1. Jim Broadbent did a fantastic job at bringing out his character, as the script writers, I think, had it spot on to make Slughorn a lighthearted and laughable character. Everything he said was incredibly hilarious. I got a few disturbed looks when my friends and I attended the movie and I found Aragog’s burial hilarious. “Why”, one inquired suspiciously as Slughorn eulogized Aragog, “are you laughing?” Wondering whether my behavior came across as foolish, insanely disrespectful, or downright pathetic to one with a serious eye towards the event, I hesitantly replied: “Er… I dunno… Slughorn is just funny???” She rolled her eyes and continued to watch as I tried to fight the humor. It commenced, however, no more than a few seconds later when a drunk Slughorn and Hagrid sang about a wizard whose wand snapped in 2.
On a more serious note, Tom Felton also did a tremendous job playing his grown up character. Malfoy has transformed from a stuck up git to an intense and overwhelmed human being, with a hint of insecurity. Tom did a great job portraying the drastic difference. Everyone seems to think that Draco is just a really dark wizard who’s just all evil. And I know he’s a death eater, and he’s dark with bad intentions for Dumbledore. But in this film, he’s more vulnerable than ever. I think he’s matured quite a bit, and he’s been given this task to kill somebody being about 16 years old himself, while Voldemort is threatening to take his life if he doesn’t carry out with it. He’s very jealous of Harry’s fame and importance, but after everything, when it comes down to it, he’s just really scared.
I was very highly impressed with both Tom Riddles. Young Tom, played by Hero Tiffin-Fiennes, is truly amazing, he plays the perfect young Tom. I loved seeing Voldemort as a kid, and comparing all the similarities and differences between the past and the present. One bit I found particularly interesting was the various objects around that room, some that I recalled from the book, which Dumbledore described as “souvenirs”, which was interesting because Tom ended up being fascinated by Horcruxes. I was truly intrigued by teenager Tom, because, for what may have been the first time (in the movies), I saw Voldemort as a human being, not an evil, non-human thing aspiring to take over the world. I recall realizing that there were reasons Tom turned out to be Voldemort, that he was once a normal school boy, and that he had particular traits and influences that lead him to become what he is. Again, it was interesting to compare Tom to Voldemort.
I absolutely adored Ron’s character in the film. I especially admired Rupert’s performance in the scene after he ate the love cakes from Romilda, which was fantastically hilarious. Another stand out moment was at the Burrow for Christmas, when Harry and Ginny are in the room together, and Ron sits down right in between them with a huge plate of pies.
Dan was incredible in the film, absolutely brilliant. A personal favorite was his behavior when he took the Felix Felicis. Extremely giddy and hyped up.
Cormac’s character was great, hilarious.
Emma Watson was absolutely brilliant as Hermione; truly incredible. Luna was also amazing, and the touch of the wrackspurts around Harry's head on the Hogwarts Express was impossible to leave any book fan complaining from lack of accuracy, as it is surely agreeable that the new solution is much more ammusing. Snape was perfectly dark, sinister, and mysterious as he should be. Lavender was wonderful; her girliness and giggly peronality were exaggerated perfectly for humor effect - another very laughable character.
I liked the touch of adding Ginny to the Room of Requirement scene where Harry hides his Potions book. There is, however, a minute error I think may prove potentially problematic when it comes time for film number 7. In the movie, Ginny hides Harry’s book while Harry keeps his eyes shut. In the book, Harry shoves his book in a crevice himself. This could be problematic when it comes time to shoot Deathly Hallows, because Harry catches a glimpse of the Ravenclaw diadem in that same crevice, however nonchalant or insignificant it may seem at the time. To my knowledge, they don’t show the diadem in the movie. That quick glimpse turns out to be the reason Harry is able to locate it, so they now must find a different way to bring that into the movie, perhaps with a different back story. While reading the 7th book, I pictured a flashback of the 6th one, perhaps in slow motion, of a diadem that Harry came across.
Quidditch was good. I'm a sucker for Quidditch, so, needless to say I developed a particular craving for it becuase of the absence of it across the past 2 films. It was quite interesting, as it has undoubtedly changed since the last time we saw it in year 3. It's still ver captivating; it's just... intensified. I disliked their new attire, though (mostly because of the distracting headpieces).
Complaint: the Inferi had no introduction (Snape introduced them in Defense Against the Dark Arts originally). This bit left those who haven't read the book wondering and asking their piers who had, "What were those zombie things?" The Inferi themselves were extremely well-done, even quite scary actually. Sitting between boys at the midnight premeir had its downsides (although they unadmittedly jumped just as bad badly as I did). As a Harry Potter book-reader among friends, I also received questions concerning Horcruxes, particularly "Marvolo Gaunt's Ring". Most of the story behind that doesn't come in until the 7th book, but piers nevertheless seemed to be confused about it's significance (or the fact that it was even a Horcrux). 
I suppose my biggest critique for the entire movie would be the exclusion of Dumbledore’s funeral. Dumbledore is an incredibly notorious and honorable wizard with a lifetime’s commitment and great help in the wizarding world behind him. I think he deserved a proper memoriam. I read sometime back that the reason the film makers decided against the funeral, is because there are a lot of unmentioned characters from the movies that attended the book funeral. Even if it was just the Hogwarts population and close wizard families, I think it would have been worth it. Given, though, it was nice how the students and teachers paid respect by illuminating their wands and raising them in the air. A truly poignant moment for one to take in after the death.
The film overall was absolutely fantastic.