Half-Blood Prince may test your patience with its pacing, but it delivers on the promise behind its mysteries. One that sees director David Yates (backed by Bruno Delbonell's Oscar-nominated cinematography) skillfully guiding the film's puzzle-like narrative and holding each of his pieces until the exact moment they must be placed. Structured more as a pulpy detective story than a magical adventure tale, Half-Blood Prince is the one film in the series that can be qualified as a genuine slow-burner. While that may sound like a bit of a bore, the penultimate film (well, sort of) in the series finds Harry and friends continuing to fight the good fight while unraveling the deep, dark secret that's made Voldemort all but immortal. The film essentially serves as a two-and-a-half hour expository tale that sets up the final chapters in Harry's story, Deathly Hallows 1 and 2. Luckily, buildup is Half-Blood Prince's specialty. Every moment, except for that 18 years later finale that still feels both tacked on and a bit silly, mostly because Neville and Luna aren't included. Every thrilling moment of Deathly Hallows Part 2 coalesces to deliver a finale that's stimulating both emotionally and intellectually. That he does so without slighting any of the subtleties or overarching dramas that made the series such a compelling narrative experiment was no small achievement. However, Yates manages to squeeze all the inherent action and drama - and a number of characters too great to mention - into the shortest film in the franchise. In this closing chapter of the final Harry Potter franchise, Yates' team covers Harry, Hermione, and Ron's desperate search for Voldemort's Horcruxes, Snape's surprising backstory, the epic Battle of Hogwarts, and Harry's fateful showdown with the last heir of Slytherin.Įven as the second act of a two-parter, it feels like too much narrative for one film. Upon revisiting Goblet of Fire, we can't help but wonder if it might've worked better as a two-parter.Īgainst seemingly impossible odds, Yates managed just that with Deathly Hallows Part 2. That approach easily makes Goblet of Fire the most action-packed entry in the series, but the film is so lacking in nuance that when one of the Tri-Wizard competitors meets an untimely end, we've spent so little time with him that the tragedy (and the sense of danger that should accompany it) barely registers. The director focuses the bulk of the film's time and energy on the daring trials of the Tri-Wizard tournament and nowhere near enough time on the wizards involved in them. Mike Newell's overall approach to Goblet of Fire's narrative is largely to blame for that. Even with a runtime approaching two hours and forty minutes, it still feels like this adaptation is glancing over, or flat out ignoring, too much of Rowling's book. After all, Goblet of Fire is based on the second-longest book in J.K. If it sounds like there's a lot going on in Goblet of Fire, that's because there is.
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