As TV series Baylon 5 used to say, "life can be broken down into moments of transition or moments of revelation". The episodes in that show used to reflect that; major event episodes were separated by transitional episodes that dealt with repercusions from the previous instalment and set up events in the next revelatory episode. It's the same with movie trilogies too; Lord of the Rings has The Two Towers to transition between introduction and resolution.
If you ignore the first four Harry Potter films (and you can as nothing of great significance occurs!) then the final 3 stories will for a trilogy. 2007's Order Of The Phoenix introduced evil Lord Voldamort as a physical threat to the magic world and 2010's split movie The Deathly Hallows will resolve the saga. So it's up to this years Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince to make the transition between the two.
And a great job it does too.
All four movies in this 'trilogy' are thankfully directed by the assured hand of David Yates. Half Blood Prince feels like a direct continuation of Part 5 due to the same measured tone and adult approach to the Potter world. In fact, his style is so dark and quiete at times, I'd have thought small kids would stick their noses up at this (but the box office proves otherwise). There's a still quality to the direction that reminds one of Bryan Singer...and like Singer, I hope Yates tries a true adult thriller when his fantasy movie duties are fulfilled.
Like Order of the Phoenix the drama comes from the quieter scenes rather than overblown effects setpieces (although there are a few to pick the pace up occasionally). Hermione's revelation of unrequited love is one, beautifully subdued scene as is Harry's plea to Professor Slughorn for some vital information. The handling of a major character's death is also particularly sensitively handled (there was sobbing in the audience behind me).
A statement that is true for all Harry Potter films, including this one is...the kids are still a little stiff but there acting's getting better. The interweaving of REAL character development in this gives the actors something to get their teeth in to...and under Yate's direction, they achieve it with great subtlety at times.
Because of the transisional nature of the film, Part 6 isn't as strong as Part 5. The main story is very dark and very strong indeed...it's the developing character arcs that interupt the flow. But at least the threat to the magic world by the phantom menace that is Voldamort, is still very much felt...and becomes much more dangerous to everyday lives as the plot progresses. Issues of love, addiction, obsession and even terrorism is dealt with here (Yates has graduated from political thrillers after all).
A thoroughly enjoyable addition to the series. At this rate The Deathly Hallows should be a corker.
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