Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.
I am an unabashed Harry Potter enthusiast. The movie franchise has however, never managed a satisfying visual summoning of the magical world that existed first in my imagination. My viewing of Hollywood’s latest offer in the Harry Potter series (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince) is entirely jaded by this fact. It's just incredibly annoying to watch a film based on a book, only to find that the film glosses over all of the little moments and nuances you loved.
Escapist fantasy is something I've been fond of since I watched the Neverending Story as a child, and if you don't take into consideration the fact that a film can never properly render something as nicely as your own imagination can, the movie adaptation of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is a decent watch.
Pleasant and exhilarating special effects from the get go, as well as a rather dark aesthetic quality makes this kids’ film feel quite grown up. The palette employed is one of brown tinges and washed-out greys, which conjures up the spirit of an archaic world at the point of exhaustion and collapse.
Daniel Radcliffe as the eponymous Potter, is as consistently hollow and inauthentic as he's ever been. However his supporting cast isn't half bad for the most part. Jim Broadbent, as new potions teacher Horace Slughorn, is exceptional and hits every quirk-ridden beat.
One problem which plagued the last Potter film was pacing. When you base a film on a book which is that long, it's important to not try to fit in too much. The previous Potter film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, tried to fit in too much information, and felt rushed and jumpy because of it. Half Blood Prince didn't have this problem, and I felt the plot moved along at a nice pace.
Overall the film is pleasant. Nothing exceptional, nothing that makes it a 'must see'. But if you're looking for two and a half hours of youthful escape, maybe give it a try.