Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I’ve never read a Harry Potter book; I fell asleep watching a part of the first movie. Granted, it was late in the evening, but I never felt like trying again. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being “Harry who???” and 10 being “I know more than J.K. Rowling about Potter”, I’d probably rate a 1,5.

Why then did I spend a couple of hours with this movie? Precisely because I knew nothing about it. The movie now rates a 7.8 on IMDB, with more than 30.000 people input. The critics seem to love it, and even the Vatican gave it its blessing (pun intended).

This movie is based on the sixth novel and the test was basically to determine how well the movie scores with a complete stranger to the Harry Potters saga, someone with a more objective opinion. Or an alien that just landed on Earth.

I watched the movie with a person that has read the books and seen all the movies, but I resisted the temptation of asking anything about the characters or plot. I didn’t want to ruin my ignorance about the subject under analysis. Let’s call it the scientific-amateur approach.

I found the story gripping, a concept that usually goes along with me not starting to think about my laundry chores or money worries in the middle of a movie. The characters are interesting and the acting quite good. That part I already suspected, been a long-time fan of Michael Gambon and Alan Rickman, just to name a few.

Very good special effects and attention to details, producing some quite impressive minutes of screen time. Also, you can admire the landscapes in Ireland and Scotland. London never seemed grayer and yet it looked so beautiful.

I especially enjoyed the comedy side of the story. Some moments are really funny. The ending with a cliff-hanger is likely to be something usual in the series but anyway, it works well. Even not having any information on the characters background, I was able to enjoy the movie and to follow the story. Though I didn’t turn in a Harry Potter fan by the end of the movie, I also didn’t feel like I was wasting two hours of my life at all. I really had fun. So, I give it a Green Light. Go for it! And take some popcorn with you.

Watch trailer @ Movie On Companion