Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Review

This was the last film in the franchise to follow the Harry Potter formula. Harry has some expositional scenes before he rides the train to Hogwarts or meets up with Ron and Hermoine, then comes the balance between the light-hearted school plots (Quidditch, various character romances, etc.) and the darker Voldemort related plotline, (this time with Draco Malfoy undergoing his first task as a Death Eater). Many people have the same complaints as Goblet of Fire with the Half-Blood Prince. As I will admit that some pacing issues are at hand and some tonal differences often occur throughout the film, it is helped that the plot always keeps moving forward. Each scene is essential to the next one. Unlike, Goblet of Fire's huge chunk of the film focusing on the Yule Ball and other comedic scenes. Overall, I liked this entry into the franchise. Its humorous parts were genuinely funny and it's dark moments were very well executed. Sure there wasn't as much action as some of the other entries in the franchise, but this acts as a necessary building block for the final showdown.