Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince****
*ing: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Tom Felton, Helena Bonham Carter, Maggie Smith and David Thewlis.
Directed by David Yates
Tagline: Once again I must ask too much of you, Harry.

We walked the castle of Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry with Daniel Radcliffe's Harry Potter - the Chosen One, the Boy Who Lived with the first installment of the magical franchise, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It has been six years since, Hogwarts has changed and so has Harry. As the sixth film in the Harry Potter franchise rolls, we explore the anxiety and growing pains of Harry Potter, the troubled and estranged past of Lord Voldermort (Ralph Fiennes) and the genius and the monster buried within him.
With this film, the series has leaped forward as a link to the past (much like the book) into a darker terrain, one where the unthinkable finally happens.

The journey of Harry Potter rings true as far as growing up goes. The conflict and confusion of entering adolescence and trying to find focus strikes a chord. In this film, romance also surfaces for Harry and his two best friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) like never before. And even Harry seems to have discovered his one true love - Ron's sister Ginny Weasley. 

The film picks up from right where The Order of the Phoenix trailed off... Harry's godfather, Sirius Black is dead and Lord Voldermort's return is finally accepted by everyone including the Ministry of Magic. The magical world has become darker.  Voldermort's evil minions, the Death Eaters, led by Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter) run wild as they are chased by Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) and his diminishing army.

This film, like all Harry Potter movies, has many undercurrents. The most impact comes in the late night travels of Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter into the past of Tom Marvolo Riddle, the boy who became the greatest dark wizard of all times - Lord Voldermort. These journey's are the focus of the sixth book as Dumbledore imparts his insight to Harry, who is now old enough to be exposed to darkness at its worst. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is grim, cold and emotionally compelling from the first scene.

It's a rite of passage for Harry towards what lies ahead. Dumbledore is showing him the ropes and giving him assignments like cleverly manipulating Professor Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) and luring him back to the halls of Hogwarts. Harry also has to endure watching Professor Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) finally take hold of the one position he had been gunning for from day one - to be Professor of the Dark Arts. But Harry's one obsession throughout the film is that he suspects that his young nemesis Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) has an assignment from the Dark Lord himself.

Draco is no longer the same. No one can disobey the Dark Lord. Draco is terrified and conflicted. Yet he chooses to keep his surface intact, in a way akin to Harry Potter, who is covered in blood more often than not. Then there is an Unbreakable Vow between Severus Snape and Narcissa Malfoy (Helen McCrory), Draco's mother and then there is the Half Blood Prince whose notes in an old text book make Harry the best in Potions in his class. But he has no idea about who the Half-Blood Prince really was…

The story of Harry Potter has always been a compelling one. Harry, the orphaned boy who we first met as an 11-year-old has grown into a confident wizard with perplexing emotions yet a will to fight the fight. This Harry Potter is admirably rolling with the punches even as confusion, death and fear permeate the air. As Harry has grown, the films have taken a more mature, appealing twist. Visually, it's beautiful yet dark, sometimes eerie and sometimes simply stunning as Harry and friends play Quidditich in the blue skies on their brooms. The characters explore emotions that we've felt only in the books. When it comes to the transition from pages to scenes, it is safe to say that Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is the most alluring film since Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Some storylines may have been dropped and that is excusable because director David Yates has wonderfully spun the many themes of The Half-Blood Prince into a two and a half hour film without losing focus. It is an emotional film and the level of intrigue remains mysterious, clues are stained, self-doubt is palpable in Harry and questions arise at every step.

One coup that makes this film so gripping is its cast. The acting is impeccable and the ensemble cast is an enchantingly delightful one. Other than the usual youngsters, the seasoned actors from Britain who populate The Half-Blood Prince as good and bad wizards lend it more dimension and character. Jim Broadbent, who plays Professor Horace Slughorn is the latest addition to the well-rounded cast that includes other British actors like Michael Gambon's now weary and wise Albus Dumbledore, the sharp yet adorable David Thewlis' Remus Lupin and the strict yet loyal Professor Minerva McGonagall, played by Maggie Smith. Other actors who give stellar performances include Alan Rickman who plays the shrewd Severus Snape and plays both sides with such vigour and strength, you can't figure out which one he's really on. Helen Bonham Carter's Bellatrix Lestrange is more deranged and wicked than ever. The young and pretty Evanna Lynch, who plays the wacky Luna Lovegood, is another girl who lives in her own world who adds some light to the otherwise depressing story. Emma Watson shines as Hermione Granger who is no longer just the book worm. And the most special of them all is without a doubt, Daniel Radcliffe's Harry Potter. He is heartbreaking and emotional, alone yet still standing - he's brilliant.

Some dialogues from the film lend it absolute conviction, especially when delivered by someone with as much skill and style as Michael Gambon, who at one points says to Harry: "In my life I have seen things that are truly horrific. Now I know you will see worse" or when he says to the students at Hogwarts, "Every day, every hour, this very minute, perhaps, dark forces attempt to penetrate this castle's walls. But in the end, their greatest weapon... is you."

To look at this film as just another Harry Potter film would be unfair. The childish streak - which Chris Columbus of Home Alone fame installed in the earlier films (much to our dismay), is almost gone. The tension is painful, it feels real and growing. The light moments are few, and the days just get bleaker. Harry is now alone, finding a way back to recover from the colossal loss and betrayal that has changed the stakes forever. The troubled trial that lies ahead begins now. And we are riveted… waiting to watch the next and final installment before this fantasy comes to a close.

– Maheen Sabeeh

*YUCK
**WHATEVER
***GOOD
****SUPER
*****AWESOME