Film File - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

As 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" opens, it"s a very tense time in the wizarding world because Lord Voldemort has returned from hiding. Empowered by the return of the Dark Lord, the Death Eaters are attacking openly and at will, and even the Muggle world is not impervious to their reign of terror. As ominous dark clouds swirl over London, three Death Eaters swoop out of the clouds, leaving a path of destruction in their wake. Unseen by the naked eye, they spiral around London"s Millennium Bridge, causing it to buckle and then collapse, sending pedestrians running for their lives. While even Hogwarts is no longer safe, Harry suspects that new dangers may lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. He needs Harry to help him uncover a vital key to unlocking Voldemort"s defences - critical information known only to Hogwarts" former Potions Professor, Horace Slughorn. With that in mind, Dumbledore manipulates his old colleague into returning to his previous post with promises of more money, a bigger office...and the chance to teach the famous Harry Potter. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry"s long friendship with Ginny Weasley is growing into something deeper, but standing in the way is Ginny"s boyfriend, Dean Thomas, not to mention her big brother, Ron. But Ron"s got romantic entanglements of his own to worry about, with Lavender Brown lavishing her affections on him, leaving Hermione simmering with jealousy yet determined not to show her feelings. And then a box of love potion-laced chocolates ends up in the wrong hands and changes everything. Along with danger, love is also in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again. David Yates, who directed 2007"s 'Harry Potter And The Order of the Phoenix", returns to direct the latest episode of JK Rowling"s series of global bestsellers. Once again heading the cast, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson reprise their roles as Harry, Ron and Hermione, with other cast members Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange; Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid; Warwick Davis as Professor Filius Flitwick; Michael Gambon as Professor Albus Dumbledore; Alan Rickman as Professor Severus Snape; Maggie Smith as Professor Minerva McGonagall, and Julie Walters as Molly Weasley. A number of young stars also reprise their roles as Hogwarts students, including Tom Felton as Harry"s long-time adversary, Draco Malfoy, and the pride of Termofeckin - emerging Irish actress Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood. Jim Broadbent joins the cast as Potions Professor Horace Slughorn, with Helen McCrory as Draco"s mother, Narcissa Malfoy. An air of foreboding pervades this sixth Harry Potter film; the end is coming and it only remains as to how the brushstrokes will be applied to the canvas. There is danger and death here, and also the increasing whiff of testosterone which began in the previous film and develops into an alluring aroma for some at this point. Harry, looking increasingly like a nervous Kerry footballer in the Croke Park tunnel before another do-or-die tilt at all-conquering Tyrone, is front and centre as the showdown with Lord Voldemort inches ever closer. Where the early 'Potter" films failed due to trying too hard to live the letter of the books, these later films, and this one in particular, score by whipping the plot along at a fast clip with little time between confrontations to gather your wits. Those who have not read the books will be a little thrown at times - best to ride your confusion to the next magic spell when it will be (mostly) revealed. Director Yates does an excellent job of marshalling the over-sized cast into bite-size story chunks which are well-blended with special effects and head-snapping editing. Composer Nicholas Hooper, cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel and designer Stuart Craig - film jobs rarely mentioned in this column - must get a round of applause here for their powerfully combined effects on the finished product. And, by the way, although there is only one book left in the series, it will be divided into two films, so there"s lots of Harry still to come.