Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince is the sixth movie in the Harry Potter series. It is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 15. Contrary to rumor, this is does not appear to be a part one of two deal. This movie chronicles the entire Half-Blood Prince story as it was revealed in the book series. As with the previous Harry Potter movies, this installation is set beginning in England and then moving to Scotland to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

This story brings a little more light to the history of Harry's mother from when she was attending Hogwarts, but only as a recollection, not as a visual memory as was portrayed in the previous movie. Along with this history lesson, the viewer is provided more information on the history of Tom Riddle (Frank Dillane), the human wizard, who became Lord Voldemort. These revelations start with the first time Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) meets Tom and leads through the secret memory of a certain Hogwart's professor.

Several well known characters return in this cast. Harry Potter played by Daniel Radcliffe goes through this movie believed by almost all the witches and wizards of the magic world unlike in The Order of the Phoenix. Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, played by Rupert Grint and Emma Watson respectively, also return as Harry's trusty sidekicks. Ginny Weasley (Bonny Wright) takes a more active role as one of Harry's followers in this movie. Other well known faces also return but in smaller parts.

There are several sub-plots running through this movie. The first is the story behind the title, which comes from a Potions Class textbook that Harry borrows at the beginning of the movie from the classroom cupboard. The book belonged to the mysterious Half-Blood Prince, who is not identified until the end of the story. Harry finds that the potion recipes in this book have been reworked to a near perfection that Harry finds invaluable throughout the story.

The next sub-plot follows the romantic wants of each of the main characters. It is plain to the audience from the start that the main characters know who they each want, but it takes the whole of the film for some of them to figure it out. This leads to a lot of turmoil with the characters as they sort out their adolescent, hormone driven feelings.

The last major sub-plot revolves around the actions of Drako Malfoy (Tom Felton) and Severus Snape (Alan Rickman). In the beginning of the movie, Professor Snape makes a promise to watch over Draco as he carries out some secret mission issued to him by the Dark Lord himself.

All in all, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a really good movie. It is better than some of the parts that came before it. This film is very dark, darker even than the last movie. There is death, destruction, and a pall of malevolence that veils the entire film. It is rated PG, but I recommend thinking before bringing young, easily frightened children to see it. There are a few scenes in the movie that could be nightmare inspiring. The Half-Blood Prince will be released into theaters this Wednesday, July 15, 2009. There are to be special midnight showings available and tickets are on sale already by some cinemas. Check with your local theater for show times.

Internet Movie Database, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Cast, IMDb.com