Potter needs a shave?...So Dumbledore doesn't?!

''Ah, Harry... you need a shave.''

As Harry Potter begins his 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he discovers an old book marked mysteriously "This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince" and begins to learn more about Lord Voldemort's dark past.

Daniel Radcliffe: Harry Potter

Expecting the worse is sometimes a necessary evil, I mean why shouldn't I? Especially when my favourites Gary Oldman and Ralph Fiennes are not even in the film to give proceedings the fire and passion that is required. What Half Blood Prince bombards us with next is a blaze and whirl of parodies and comedic happenings which make me find it hard to take seriously. Dumbledore taking a magazine out of a toilet, which isn't pornographic but some knitting mag is almost a shot in the face. Then we have awkward romances all around for our main characters, we have huge gaps missed out from the book, and we have Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter and Timothy Spall in one scene looking like they just came from Sweeney Todd for a little family reunion.

The good aspects of Half Blood Prince is the effects, the flashback sequences which include Ralph Fiennes little nephew (Hero Fiennes-Tiffin), and the cave scene with Dumbledore and Harry, which may leave cinema audiences wanting a toilet break from the amount of water on display, not to mention the undead ghouls that lurk there too. The fantasy and material seems to be going abit stale now since this is the 6th outing for Harry and chums. Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy seems to give a flat performance, and Daniel Radcliffe seems about as indifferent to previous installments. He's lacking the charisma and direction that previously lurked in his acting capabilities.
It even lacks a proper action packed showdown which is eagerly sought after, a conclusion of magnitude, and you can hardly feel remorse for a character who dies in exactly the same way as Pheonix.

''I can make things move without touching them. I can make bad things happen to people who are mean to me. I can speak to snakes too. They find me... whisper things.''

Sadly, I miss Gary Oldman, and Ralph Fiennes unmeasurable energy they bring to the screen. It's noticeable that there presence is absent, and I cannot stress this enough. David Yates had these titans to make Order of the Pheonix a spectacle and pinnacle of performance as well as a pleasure.
In the last several years, I feel more and more magic from the books have been cut from the movies. I blame this on Warner Brothers who obviously views the Potter property as a ticket to high profit rather than an experience that film goers and book lovers can share together.

I loved the essence of the first two films, but when Alfonso Cuaron took over as the director of Prisoner of Azkaban, it seems more and more material had been cut from the books on which they are based. Then Goblet of Fire came out a year after, and even more material was erased. Then Order of the Phoenix came out two years ago, and it seems half of the book was cut to the point where the film was just entertaining performances and dazzling effects, although it had an array of my favourite actors and actresses.

But, Half Blood Prince results in being, the worst of the entire series. Many fans of the Harry Potter film series keep on stating that the films are an entirely different form of entertainment than the books, and that all the details cannot be included. That's nonsense. For fuck sake look at Lord of the Rings and tell me you can't fit in as much detail as possible, it's possible, but the film makers are lazy and incompetent.

What we have with Half Blood Prince is a rushed version of a story with much of the material that made the book so special completely absent. Events such as Harry and Dumbledore's quest for Voldemort's Horcruxes are barely touched on, while the majority of the film focuses on the sillier parts of the novel such as the growing hormones between the sixth year Hogwarts students. It seems that the producers of Harry Potter were aware of the growing popularity of the Twilight phenomenon and wanted to make their own teenage romantic love story as part of the series. That doesn't feel right in a Harry Potter for a blooming start.

I feel that David Yates has failed miserably this time round, and that he will undoubtedly destroy the once great Harry Potter film series. The fact that the final book will be split into two separate films makes me question his abilities as a director.
So let's rewind a moment, and watch Dumbledore tell Harry he needs a shave...I'm going to cry.

''In my life I have seen things that are truly horrific. Now I know you will see worse.''

6/10