Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Now we get to my personal favorite Harry Potter film in the lineup. This was the final film released before the two part finale, and the best way I can describe it is that it is the calm before the storm, while getting all the pieces in place.

The story focuses on Harry, Ron, and Hermione's sixth year at Hogwarts, and, although there is no confrontation with Voldemort in this one, his presence is still felt, and it is quite clear that the wizarding world is getting less and less safe as the story goes on. The main plot point that is focused on is Voldemort's past, which Harry explores with the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, which is definitely the highlights, as the actors they got for the 11 year old and 16 year old versions of the character are appropriately creepy and unnerving.

At the same time, despite the dark goings on, the film also goes out of its way to show what life is like for the students, and, as in any dark time, life goes on. Students fall in love, goof around, and generally just continue to live their lives, most of them not fully aware of the darkness of the world around them. It's a good balance getting to see the teenage drama in addition to the dark plot developments, and it makes the world even more three dimensional.

The performances in this are quite strong, and outside of the main trio, who have definitely gotten very good at embodying their characters at this point, I also have to give props to Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy for playing as a very conflicted young man who is given an impossible task by Voldemort himself, and it weighs heavily on him, as well as Michael Gambon for his strongest performance as Dumbledore yet, ever since he replaced the late Richard Harris in the third film in the series, and Alan Rickman similarly does a fantastic performance as Severus Snape, who has quite a pivotal role in this film, as any Potter fan knows.

Overall, I think the reason I like this one is that calm before the storm feeling that you get. Harry needs to prepare for his final battle with Voldemort, the world is growing darker, and yet, life is still going on. It has some pretty funny moments, and some very dark, frightening moments, as well as one of the most heartbreaking moments in the entire series. It's an amazing film, but the world of Harry Potter just continues to get darker from here.

Next time, we see the beginning of the grand finale, as Harry and his friends begin their search for the means to destroy Voldemort for good. Watch the end begin in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.

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