'Half Blood Prince' going down a Storm!

Half Blood Prince is a must see for Harry Potter fans and while it more than lives up to expectations for most of the film; for me the ending was a disappointment. The book was one of my favourite in the series and the dramatic battle at the finale didn't do justice to JK Rowling's original script. Having said that the core Harry Potter ingredients of magic, mystery, humour, sorrow and above all imagination are still there in cauldron fulls. All of your favourite characters are back and teenage hormones are running riot in Hogwarts making for some very humorous storylines - none moreso than Lavendar Brown's lovestruck relationship with Ron Weasley (my all-time favourite character). Hermione's heartbreak and jealously is matched only by Harry's pining after Ginny Weasley who's in a relationship with fellow Gryffindor student Dean Thomas. The entangling and hilarious antics of the hormone-fuelled students offer some light relief to the dark backdrop of the film, which is quite scary in parts making the 12A rating well deserved. The wizarding world is no longer in denial that Voldemort - the greatest dark wizard of all time - has returned and is declaring war on the wizarding community. No longer is the magical world hidden from the muggles as the violence spills over into the real world with attacks and kidnappings affecting both worlds as death eaters taken on The Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry of Magic and dark forces try to penetrate Hogwarts. Dumbledore is growing increasingly old and frail and Half Blood Prince really focuses on the relationship between him and Harry as the great wizard prepares Harry for the great battle ahead. This is the first film in which Voldemort doesn't actually appear -but his presence is strongly felt throughout as death eaters carry out his orders. But we do see Voldemort as a boy and as a Hogwarts' student (as Dumbledore reveals his memories of the boy Tom Riddle to Harry) - and what we see is possibly even more chilling than the freakish being that is now the dark lord. Can Voldemort's childhood secrets hold the clue as to how to defeat him? The arrival of a new teacher at Hogwarts, Horace Slughorn, as the new potions master really shakes up the storyline. Slughorn was once quite close to the boy Tom Riddle. He was also very fond of Harry's mother Lily and is now drawn to Harry Potter. Does Slughorn possess a secret that could be the key to helping Dumbledore and Harry penetrate Voldemort's defences? And can Harry persuade him to give up the dark secret? And which side is Snape really on? Harry obtains a second-hand potions book, which used to belong to the very mysterious Half-Blood Prince (whose identity is revealed at the end of the film). By following the handwritten notes in the book's margins, Harry is quickly catapulted to the top of the potions class but can he trust all of the spells written by the mysterious Half Blood Prince? The performance of the film has to go to Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy. Half Blood Prince really sets up Draco as Harry's nemesis but we also see a little more of Draco's character and the mental tortures he endures as he is forced to carry out Voldemort's orders. But what exactly is Draco up to as he wanders the halls of Hogwarts alone? Half Blood Prince will keep you on the edge of your cinema seat right until the very end with some spectacular scenes and special effects. The scene towards the end with Dumbledore and Harry in the cave with the infiery (zombie-like creatures) certainly lives up to expectations. It is great to see the return of quidditch to our sets in Half Blood Prince - something that didn't make the cut in some of the other films. And the attention to detail in the set - whether it's wanted posters for death eaters in Diagon Alley or copies of the Daily Prophet lying around the common room - is exceptional and a real delight for eagle-eyed book fans as the magical world of Hogwarts leaps to life off the pages of Rowling's much-loved book. As the film closes, it's clear Hogwarts will never be the same again and the great battle lies ahead. While there is only one more book remaining to be brought to life on our cinema screens "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", film fans will be delighted to learn that it will be split into two films. There was so much in the book that it wasn't possible to condense it all into one movie. The final two instalments are scheduled for release in November 2010 and May 2011. Rating:12A Time: 154 minutes Review score: 7/10