Watching
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOODE PENI -- er --
PRINCE is like preparing for a marathon. At a whopping 2 hours and 33 minutes, it’s amazing that producers expect children to sit quietly through this cinematic experience.
The characters in this installment are going through that awkward period of not quite being kids, yet not quite being fully grown. But before we turn this review into a Britney Spears’ song, let’s talk about hormones.
Apparently, director David Yates really wanted the audience to know exactly where the half blood is situated. The kids in this movie are preoccupied with the opposite gender in a way that’s very embarrassing, a smidge endearing, and seriously realistic.
With so many shows and movies geared towards children, there’s an immense effort to conceal normal adolescent desires, but it was refreshing to show the truth about such matters in a way that doesn’t make kids and their parents squirm.
The film focuses on the natural course of growing up and doesn’t shy away from the mysteries of romantic relationships. Perhaps that’s part of the magic that’s offered up in the series. Getting older and having things change, yet being able to adapt quickly and adeptly.
Speaking of magic though, the whole film is beautifully created and sweeping in its scope. The scenery and general visual imagery are stunning and much like our beloved Gotham, as soon as the beginning credits appear the audience is transported into a different world.
Yates attempts to make a movie that can stand alone outside of the series, but there is still a sufficient amount of Potter knowledge one must possess to approach the film. Without some background, many audience members may initially feel a bit lost but two hours later, the movie hits its stride.
A major death, the search for Voldemort, and the reveal of the Half-Blood Prince’s identity all take place in the last 45 minutes, which makes me wonder why Yates makes us sit through almost two hours to get to the climax.
But like a real marathon, the drama and struggle of the last few minutes are worth the wait and expectation of the time leading up to
