Rating: MMMM

Director: Drew Barrymore
Starring: Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Marcia Gay Harden, Eve, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis
Running time: 111 mins
Cert: 12A

Don’t be put off by the fuschia pink UK poster, covered in the faces of smiling women – this is not The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants or any of that saccharine-soaked ‘girl power’ drivel (that in fact evokes the very opposite of female empowerment). Whip It is a kick-ass, feisty and intelligent sports movie that neatly combines multiple genre elements (pop culture comedy, family drama, teen romance) to create and warm and entertaining film that is full of what Americans call ‘attitude’.

Whip It centres around 17 year old Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page), a disillusioned misfit resident of dead-end town, Bodeen, Texas. Bliss lives her life as put-upon waitress of kitsch diner the Oinkery and dutiful daughter, reluctantly  entered into beauty pageants by her mother (Marcia Gay Harden), a straightlaced postwoman who runs the Cavendar household as a tight ship.

On a shopping trip with her mother and sister in nearby city Austin, Bliss sees a flyer advertising a roller derby match – tough, scantily clad girls on skates speeding around a track, tackling and shoving each other violently in order to score points. Accompanied by best friend Pash, Bliss goes to the match and is immediately struck by the sport and particularly the women playing it – players with tough-girl names such as ‘Smashley Simpson’ and ‘Eva Destruction’. After the match, Bliss approaches one of the ‘Hurl Scouts’, Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig) who suggests that she should try out for the team as they are looking for new members. A tentative Bliss attends the trial, demonstrating a speed on skates that surprises even herself, consequently making the team and becoming a Hurl Scout by the name of ‘Babe Ruthless’.

Whip It combines sports movie, broad comedy, coming of age tale and teen flick to great effect – it is a highly engaging, entertaining and moving  film –  one of the final scenes involving Marcia Gay Harden’s mother character in particular will undoubtedly moisten a few eyes, as will a piercing moment of betrayal. Also, the early stages of Bliss’s relationship with love interest Oliver are equally charming, as are the tender swimming pool scenes, shot to great aplomb by debut director Drew Barrymore.

The script too is funny, witty, warm and clever. Barrymore’s directing is excellent, particularly the aforementioned underwater sequences, demonstrating she has considerable talent not just in the fields of acting and producing. She has a clear understanding of her characters and her scene: the rough and ready world of womens’ roller derby, the action of which is deftly handled in exciting, adrenaline fuelled scenes on the track, with Bliss and her team mates speeding around, giving and taking ‘hits’.

Whip It is great fun, despite the fact it not being exactly original. It is however, thoroughly enjoyable, with excellent little moments, and a great balance between sport and character relationships. In terms of acting, Barrymore’s cast does well. Ellen Page delivers a likeable, convincing performance as main character Bliss Cavendar, as does Kristen Wiig who is really impressive, proving she is capable not only of hilarious deadpan comedy (Knocked Up), but proving she is a credible dramatic actress. Juliette Lewis is deliciously malevolent in the villain role of ‘Iron Mavin’, and  Barrymore herself gives a hilarious cameo as knuckle-headed Hurl Scout, ‘Smashley Simpson’.  The film’s supporting characters are also played very well – feisty best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat) is great, as is Bliss’s father, Earl (Daniel Stern).

All in all, Whip It is a great slice of easy-going American fun. Barrymore has not only made a hugely enjoyable film, but she has made the world of women’s roller derby accessible and interesting to a whole new audience – the heady mix of intimidating toughness, strength and machismo balanced with a female sexiness and power is thoroughly mesmerizing. And perhaps more importantly, the film bucks the girly teen movie trend in its closing act (not to give away too much) and proves that women’s lives do not centre around the wants and desires of men – they can be their own hero and go after whatever it is they wish. And who’d have thought all this from the little girl from E.T.? Get your skates on and see Whip It (if you’ll forgive the excruciating pun). Expect sales of roller skates and eyeliner to skyrocket.

Rating: MMMM

Rating: MMMM

Review of Disney’s return to traditional 2-D hand-drawn animation and to familiar fairytales, this new adventure based on the tale of ‘The Princess and the Frog’.

Director: Ron Clements, John Musker
Starring: (voices) Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David, Oprah Winfrey
Running time: 97 mins

Disney’s latest fairytale adventure sees the House of Mouse return to their roots with a hand-drawn animated fantasy based on the well known tale, the story of a princess kissing a frog to find her prince. This incarnation of the story is set in New Orleans in the late 1920s and our heroine (and princess) is Tiana, a hardworking and stoic waitress who dreams of one day owning her own restaurant. She works two restaurant jobs to save enough money to purchase a property which she plans to revamp into “Tiana’s Place”. However, her life takes a new and different course at the arrival of the handsome and exotic Prince Naveen – who, after dabbling in the dark arts of voodoo is turned into a frog by the evil villain Facilier.  Before she knows it, Tiana finds herself  also transformed into a frog and she and Naveen are forced to begin a journey to make themselves human again.

From the get-go, The Princess and the Frog is a fun, dynamic and entertaining film. It has all the ingredients of the famed ‘Disney magic’, but has something that lifts it above the rest of the studio’s fairytale canon. Firstly, the film’s heroine Tiana is not only the first African-American Disney princess, but she is one of their few heroines who is NOT a completely passive female character. Tiana works hard to achieve and realise what she wants – which incidentally is NOT simply to marry the handsome prince of her dreams. She doesn’t believe in wishing for things, she knows that you have to strive for what you want in life, not wait for it to fall into your lap without your lifting a finger. And she does NOT need a man to swoop in and save her, she is capable of saving herself.

Secondly, the film’s romantic plot that builds between Naveen and Tiana is not the hackneyed (and frankly unhelpful and unrealistic) depiction of ‘love at first sight’, it is a mutual affection based on friendship, respect and love. Naveen is not the perfect dreamy Adonis put high on a pedestal, he has flaws enough himself and in the face of the inevitable happy ending, supports Tiana’s ambitions instead of forcing her to change (unlike Ariel’ staying human in The Little Mermaid). This realtionship dynamic comes as direct result of the film’s ‘road movie’ style direction – Tiana and Naveen must journey through the swamps of Louisiana in search of a cure to their amphibiousness and on this journey they begin to trust and learn from each other.

The Princess and the Frog has everything – the characters are likeable, fun and sympathetic (the trumpet playing alligator Louis and Cajun firefly Ray are both wonderful creations, the latter playing an astonishing part in the emotional tone of the film), the musical numbers are dynamic and entertaining, the film is warm, bright and original and boasts a lot of laughs, for both adults and children (some lines have real wit and there is a lot of subtle humour throughout the film). And for this critic, where the film succeeds most is in its pleasingly positive portrayal of girls, relationships and outlook on life. A beautiful and entertaining film. Well done Disney.

Rating: MMMM

New slick comedy-drama from the award-winning director of Juno, Jason Reitman.

Director: Jason Reitman
Starring: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick
Running time: 109 mins

In Jason Reitman’s new film Up In The Air, George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, self-confessed lover of the business and executive class lifestyle, spending more days ‘up in the air’ than days living life on the ground. His job is to fly to different cities across the USA to various company offices to fire employees because the people they work for haven’t the heart to do it themselves. The vacuous corporateness and emptiness that others find so repugnant is Ryan’s lifeblood. Until his life takes an unexpected and unwelcome turn in the form of bright new upstart Natalie (Anna Kendrick) whose ideas and plans would bring Ryan’s jet setting to a grinding halt.

In Up In The Air, Jason Reitman seems to have produced two very different films in one: the first two-thirds of the film explore the executive void of Ryan’s life and his contentedness with it, whilst it being under threat from a ’shift in company direction’ from Natalie’s cost-cutting and economising ideas. This is a slick corporate world, driven by money and a veneer of politeness with complimentary bath robes thrown in, a world which is well executed by Reitman. However, the problem comes when Ryan seemingly begins to question his values and moral behaviour and starts to view his life from a different perspective. From this point onwards the film changes tone entirely – almost like you left the cinema screen to get more popcorn and wandered into a different screen, except the characters are the same, just playing out a different story. And this is where the film inevitably falls down. Without giving too much away, the last third becomes more of a family centred tv movie than a glossy and hip George Clooney film. This tone change has a sadly negative impact on the film, as Reitman seems unable to follow through his initial ideas to the end with adequate conviction. On paper, the film works fine – on celluloid it fails somewhat.

However, all the ingredients of the film are essentially very good. George Clooney, while simply doing his charming, golden matinee idol smile that he seems to have patented, is very good and likeable as ever. Vera Farmiga as Clooney’s female opposite is also good, providing a convincing twist in the final act that comes as a genuine surprise. Anna Kendrick however delievers a standout turn as the young and naive Natalie, building on her solid work in Twilight as Jessica Stanley.

The script is well written and delivers some laughs, and there are some nice visual gags – most notably, the pilot’s ridiculous moustache which provided me with one of the biggest bellylaughs since The Hangover. In contrast too there are some genuine moments of shock, pathos and poignancy, with Natalie’s ill fated relationship and the fateful effects of some of the employees being let go from their jobs. The film is well directed, well acted and well scripted, just not really thought through, needing the courage to avoid the now hackneyed ‘man on a journey’ plot and stick to its guns of vapid corporateness and the emptiness so loved by the George Clooney character.

Engaging, witty, entertaining and funny, just not as good as expected.

Rating: MMM

Rating: MMMM

Review of new film from niche director Spike Jonze, his adaptation and big-screen realisation of one of the world’s most popular children’s books.

Director: Spike Jonze
Starring: Max Records, Catherine Keener, James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara, Forest Whitaker
Running time: 101 mins

Spike Jonze’s film, Where The Wild Things Are is under a lot of pressure, being the big-screen adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s 1963 picture-book of the same name, hailed as one of the most beloved children’s books of all time. But lovers of the book should have no fear as what Jonze has produced is an interesting, entertaining and thoroughly excellent piece of fantasy fare that while not necessarily following the book word for word (this is hardly surprising, given the length of the book and its limited word count), captures the essence and spirit of the source material. Jonze crafts a convincing and illuminating backstory for our hero Max, wearer of Wolf Pyjamas and soon to be king of all the Wild Things, introducing us to his mother (Catherine Keener) and hinting an element of dysfunctionality at play in the family unit – thus creating a believable and solid grounding for Max’s flight of fantasy and subsequent emotional journey.

A frustrated and alienated child, Max has a fight with his mother one evening and takes to the streets to escape his domestic troubles, perilously journeying by sea to a far away land of his imagination. For Max however (and the audience), this new world is completely real, presenting new joys and heartache not dissimilar to the ones he left behind. Once in the land of the Wild Things, Max stumbles upon some strange creatures with terrible teeth and terrible claws, most notably the statuesque Carol (voiced by Tony Soprano himself, James Gandolfini). The Wild Things, though wary of Max at first, soon accept him as a friend and elect him King, joining with him to build a massive structure where they can all live together (having destroyed their houses in a rather boisterous and violent game) as a rather unconventional and furry family group. However, as with the home environment that Max ran from, the Wild Things have their own personal problems and anxieties that hinder perfect social cohesion – Judith’s (Catherine O’Hara) constant downbeat mutterings paired with the possible romantic tension between Carol and KW (Lauren Ambrose) create a rather strained atmosphere between the Wild Things, which starts to effect Max’s role as King.

In Where The Wild Things Are, Spike Jonze has created a beautiful, enchanting film that explores the joys and tragedies of childhood convincingly, without condescension or pandering to purists. The story may have been altered a little, but those tweaks and changes only serve to make the spellbinding original story even more interesting and exciting. The acting from young Max Records is excellent, as are the voice talents who give the Wild Things their unique and charismatic voices, in particular James Gandolfini as Carol. In terms of cinematography, the film is also very well produced, the colour palette reflecting enough of the book’s illustrations with a few frames of lens flare that suit the tone of the piece (and link nicely with Max’s terrifying realisation that the sun will eventually die) very well. The Wild Things themselves, by virtue of being actors in big hairy suits, have a wonderfully physical presence, a masterstroke on the part of Jonze – a wonderfully palpable quality that CG creature design could not and probably never will be able to achieve.  Also notable and worthy of praise is the excellent soundtrack, provided by Carter Burwell with songs by Karen O (of indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs fame) which perfectly suits the moments of joy, wonder and childlike fun presented in the film.

Where The Wild Things Are is entertaining, moving and beautifully breathtaking film about childhood, its joys, traumas and wonders – a must-see film of 2009.

Rating: MMMM

Rating: MMMM

Review of Richard Linklater’s 1930s set period piece about the great Orson Welles’ theatrical triumph – his version of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Zac Efron, Claire Danes, Christian McKay
Running time: 114 mins

Richard Linklater’s latest film sees Orson Welles (having already taken the airwaves by storm on radio) perched on the brink of conquering the stage, starting with his production of Shakespeare’s classic history play Julius Caesar, set to be performed at the Mercury Theatre on Broadway. The ‘me’ of the title is teenager Richard (Zac Efron), the audience’s window onto the theatrical world of Welles and his company.

The casting of Efron in this particular role (a serious part and one lacking the squeaky, shiny happiness of the High School Musical franchise from which Efron made his name) may surprise a few, but Efron delivers a solid and utterly convincing performance as Richard, the young man who falls under Welles’ beguiling charms and finds himself part of the cast, playing Lucius, Brutus’ (played by Welles himself) servant boy and resident ukulele player. Efron, as previously mentioned, demonstrates that he is clearly a young actor blessed with multiple talents, being able to perform like an old Hollywood star with skill in singing, dancing and acting – the former and latter of which are on display here. Efron’s credible performance will with any luck silence harsher critics often out for his blood.

Claire Danes is as good as ever, in a role that pleasingly sees her in a bitchier role than usual with a character more reminiscent of Sookie in Igby Goes Down than the pure Juliet (William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet). However, as good as Efron and Danes’ performances are, the film belongs to relative newcomer Christian McKay in a role he was seemingly born to play. It is no wonder by playing someone as egocentric, selfish and charismatic as Welles that he steals the show – he has a bewitching way of drawing the audience to him – but his performance is of such tremendous excellence, vivacity and believability that any scene without him is left wanting and rendered almost flat, lacking the energy his performance brings to the piece – something which becomes almost detrimental to the film as a whole. However, come awards season, McKay presents himself as a dead cert for acting nominations.

The story is an interesting one, avoiding the now saturated genre of biopics and concentrating on the character of Orson Welles in one specific time period. Linklater’s 1930s setting is convincing and well produced, with exquisite art direction that passes the Isle of Man for New York city. Linklater has produced an entertaining and enjoyable film in Me & Orson Welles, however a problem is posed by a rather languorous third act, an almost plodding final section which could perhaps have been avoided by better editing. The last few minutes really do slow down proceedings, a great shame in a film that is otherwise funny, intelligent, entertaining and engaging.

Rating: MMMM

Rating: MM+

Review of black comedy-horror Jennifer’s Body, written by Oscar winning Diablo Cody, writer of 2007 indie hit Juno.

Director: Karyn Kusama
Starring: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, J.K. Simmons, Adam Brody, Johnny Simmons, Kyle Gallner
Running time: 102 mins

Following her excellent, zippy script for Juno in 2007, great things are expected from writer Diablo Cody’s follow up effort, black comedy horror Jennifer’s Body. The result, instead of being a film balanced between edgy intelligent comedy and neat horror shocks is a mediocre film that is neither really scary nor really funny. The script lacks the energy and spark of Cody’s debut, and while there are lines that are genuinely witty these are few and far between.

The film centres on Needy (Amanda Seyfried), best friend of the Jennifer of the title (played by babe du jour Megan Fox) who comes to realise that her sometime promiscuous gal-pal is not all she seems and that she has in fact become a literal man-eater. However, the premise on which Jennifer’s demonic transformation is based is so ludicrous and laughable that it makes a mockery of the whole film – despite the film not taking itself too seriously the nature of the ‘satanic ritual’ is too far fetched to be in any way credible. There are moments of comedy in certain lines of dialogue, but there are more laughs to be had at the expense of the film itself. In terms of horror and scares, these are few and far between, with only a couple of scenes providing any atmosphere and tension. When the gore comes it is relatively tame, something of a surprise not only in light of the way the film has been marketed, but from Cody’s own love of horror films – this is certainly to the detriment of the film, as one feels there is there is potential for some great scares.

As Needy, Amanda Seyfried is a sympathetic and likeable character in a long-suffering role who is punished by Jennifer both socially and romantically. Megan Fox on the other hand is lacklustre, merely doing all that is required of her – looking sexy and attractive in skimpy outfits and baring flesh when swimming across a placid lake. She fulfils the teenage boy’s fantasy image of a sex-bomb body but adds nothing to the film in terms of acting talent. Likewise, Adam Brody (Seth Cohen from TV’s The O.C.) is neither sinister or menacing enough to be credible, but a bizarre character involved in an even more bizarre premise. However, the casting of J.K. Simmons as a class teacher is one of the film’s trump cards, adding a cool and charming element to the film’s characterisation. In interviews, Cody has explained that Jennifer is meant to be an alpha female riddled with insecurities, something the film fails to fully explore. She seems ditsy and vapid, and not nearly as scheming and manipulative as the film aims to suggest.

Jennifer’s Body tries to be an intelligent darkly comic horror but simply fails to deliver. Underwhelming stuff from a writer of Cody’s calibre.

Rating: MM+

Rating: MMMM

Review of the hilarious and frightfully entertaining black-comedy road movie adventure, Zombieland.

Director: Ruben Fleischer
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin
Running time: 88 mins

In the fictional America of Ruben Fleischer’s debut flick Zombieland, a terrible virus has infected the entire population, bringing about the zombie apocalypse. In the midst of the carnage remain only a handful of anonymous survivors, each adopting the moniker of the towns and cities they are aiming to reach in their attempt to cross the wastelands of America: geeky teen Jesse Eisenberg is Columbus, Woody Harrelson is the hard-as-nails Tallahassee while Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin are sisters Wichita and Little Rock. The film is essentially a road movie with a twist, that the road ahead is peppered with danger in the form of the walking undead (which don’t actually feature that heavily for a ‘zombie film’).

Eisenberg’s Columbus takes the lead role, as a nerdy loner who develops his own code of conduct for surviving – these rules flash up throughout the film as neat little intertitles, adding to the cool charm of the film – one of the rules is “limber up” and as Eisenberg stretches and prepares himself, so do the titles. His performance is very good, further cementing himself as a talent to watch, although he must take active precautions not to be typecast as the nervous good-hearted teen as has similarly befallen Michael Cera of Juno and Superbad fame. As the crazed weapon-happy Tallahassee, Woody Harrelson is fabulous, balancing excellent comic timing with kick-ass energy and carving a surprisingly developed role from a fairly two-dimensional character.  However, director Ruben Fleischer sells Abigail Breslin short of a great role, giving her not a lot to do except play the sassy and cute sidekick to Emma Stone’s big sister.

Zombieland excels at what it does – it is wildly entertaining, funny, charming, intelligent and pleasingly warm and hopeful. The black comedy moments are executed with panache, the dialogue is witty and clever and though purists may argue that the gore factor is relatively low (the film is rated 15), there is enough crawling flesh, violence and occasional shocks to satisfy those in want of high quality comic horror. Fellow zombie comedy-horror Shaun of the Dead may be more intelligent and have an enormous cult following, but Zombieland is arguably funnier, warmer and vastly more enjoyable. With a film this accomplished, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Ruben Fleischer had been making films for years – this is his debut feature but you’d never know. Even the soundtrack is suitably awesome, with the film’s punchy and stylish opening credits rolling along to the killer strains of Metallica’s ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’. Let us hope and pray that a filmmaker this promising indeed marches on.

With its hilarious antics, deliciously violent horror set-pieces, moments of genuine pathos and a cameo that is just too brilliant to be revealed, Zombieland is the perfect popcorn film. It may not be profound, but it is damn good.

Rating: MMMM

Director: Alex Proyas
Starring: Brandon Lee, Ernie Hudson, Rochelle Davis, Anna Thomson
Running time: 97mins

Simply put, The Crow is a revenge tragedy from the mid 1990s that is more famous for the tragic and untimely death of its star Brandon Lee (son of Bruce, killed accidentally by a faulty prop gun) than for the film itself. Based on James O’Barr’s original graphic novel of the same name, the film tells the story of Eric Draven, who rises from the dead a year later after he and his girlfriend were murdered (on Devil’s Night, the night preceding Halloween) to wreak revenge on their killers. Guided by a mysterious crow, Draven goes on a rampage of violence that boasts one grisly death after another, signing the bodies with his talisman’s winged outline. One by one he crosses them off his list, but is impeded along the way by the new resident crime lord who does not take kindly to the systematic slaughter of his associates.

The film draws on the gothic genre with references to Edgar Allen Poe and features a delicious show-down in a church, yet despite its dark tone and even darker atmosphere and palette, The Crow is essentially a story of love – a backstory of Draven and fiancée Shelly is told through flashback where they are painted beautifully as a couple very much in love, brutally murdered the day before they were to be married – there are touching and poetic moments throughout, including a scene where Draven tearfully retrieves his lover’s engagement ring from a white-trash pawn shop. The film also boasts an intriguing sub-plot in alienated young teen Sarah who turned to Shelly (when alive) as a surrogate parent after being more or less abandoned by her heroin addict mother.

Sadly, as with River Phoenix and his role as Chris Chambers in Stand By Me, the late Brandon Lee’s performance adds a further haunting element to an already dark film. Had he lived, Lee would arguably have built on the talent so clearly on display here. As Eric Draven, he gives a commanding performance with a great deal of presence and energy. The film is dedicated to him and his partner Eliza, and is a fitting tribute to a young actor so full of promise. Gothic, violent, dark and cool with a killer soundtrack to boot, The Crow is a cult hit that should rank among the best of graphic novel adaptations – and as the perfect Halloween film.

Rating: MMMM

Review of Adventureland, which  follows young James Brennan one summer in the mid 1980s as he takes up a crappy summer job at the local down-and-out theme park.

Director: Greg Mottola
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Bill Hader, Ryan Reynolds
Running time: 107 mins

There really is something about a shitty job that has the power to unite people. Knowing that your co-workers also hate working in the place you do provides a certain camaraderie and team spirit. This, and the charms of fellow ‘Adventureland’ worker Em (Kristen Stewart) is what gets James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) through a long summer working for an out of date, kitsch theme  park. During his time working there, he encounters tricky customers, big-ass pandas and new relationships, not all of which are comfortable learning experiences.

Director Greg Mottola deftly handles and maintains a subtle tension between  the film’s comedic elements and summery high spirits with James’s melancholy and disappointment  (being let down by his parents forces him to take up the job at Adventureland) and his alienation from others around him. This alienation and disillusionment comes as a result of James looking forward to a summer trip to Europe, followed by enrolment at Columbia University and being with like minded people – dreams which are trodden on and painfully replaced by returning to live with his parents – a disappointment familiar to this critic in particular. However, Mottola contrasts James’s bitterness with physical comedy, and witty dialogue between likeable characters, hitting a perfect tone that suits the film’s indie-cool style.

The success of Adventureland really does rest on the chemistry and interplay between Eisenberg and Stewart. Both are excellent as James and Em respectively, creating sympathetic, likeable characters that are utterly compelling. Eisenberg at times is reminiscent of Michael Cera (Juno, Superbad), with a nervous energy that completely suits the role. Kristen Stewart, away from the blinding spotlight of her role in the Twilight saga, is a complete natural, and should be awarded for such a believable and compelling performance. The rest of the cast lend their support well, particularly Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig and Martin Starr. Also worthy of note is the art direction, lighting and soundtrack, all of which are excellent and perfectly portray the mid-80’s period setting – seen particularly in the Razzamataz club scenes.

However, in light of the promotional material for the film, one feels that Adventureland has been marketed wrong – advertising it as another slacker gross-out comedy sells the film short of its integrity and quality. Greg Mottola (as both director and screenwriter) has crafted a warm, funny and wise tale of work, play, friendship and love that is both as intelligent as it is engaging.

Rating: MMMM

Review of the latest film of the Harry Potter franchise, sixth film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince which sees Harry and Dumbledore unite to search into Voldemort’s past in an effort to discover secrets that will lead them to destroy him.

Director: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
Running time: 153 mins

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the second film about the boy wizard to be directed by David Yates (his first outing in the franchise being film #5, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) with films #1 and #2 helmed by Chris Columbus, the third by Alfonso Cuaron and the fourth by Mike Newell. Interestingly, where the second film suffered with a lack of freshness by Columbus once more taking the reins, Half-Blood Prince also suffers.

But just where the film falls down seems on the surface hard to pinpoint. On the whole (with a few glaring exceptions) the performances are reasonably good, the production value and visual effects are faultless, the dialogue is acceptable and for those wishing to pick holes in the book-to-screen transition, there is little to criticise. Where the problem comes however, is in the film’s pace which lacks dynamism and any sense of rhythm. Some scenes concentrate heavily on the mystery surrounding the identity of the Half-Blood Prince (which Harry comes across in an old school textbook) while others neglect this part of the plot completely. Quidditch seems to feature heavily, which seems incongruous to the film’s advertised tone – the franchise getting darker as Voldemort’s power grows. It must be said that far too much of the film is given over to the pangs of teenage love and raging hormones – all of which are important elements in the source material but here take up far too many scenes.

Having said that the performances are fairly good, this is only true of the adult actors and a very small number of their younger counterparts. Daniel Radcliffe is as ever painfully hit-and-miss, with some scenes feeling cringingly awkward whereas others are fairly good (the scene involving the lucky potion Felix Felicis in particular) . In comparison, Jim Broadbent  is excellent as new Potions teacher Professor Horace Slughorn, as is Michael Gambon as the illustrious Albus Dumbledore. Rupert Grint continues to demonstrate brilliant comic timing and excellent performance skills in his reprisal of Ron Weasley. Sadly, as ever, Emma Watson struggles in her portrayal of Hermione Granger as she has done in the previous films. However, she fares better than Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) who is extremely poor – her relationship and ‘blossoming romance’ with Harry withers on screen with a complete lack of chemistry. However, the two young actors as the young Tom Riddle (at ages 11 and 16 respectively), Hero Fiennes-Tiffin and Frank Dillane are superb, with the two performances maintaining a tension between sinister and eerie and a creepy seductiveness.

Other elements of the film are also good, the visual effects in particular – the inky thoughts tipping into the Pensieve are excellent, as is the fire wielded by Dumbledore near the film’s climax. However, there is an inescapable feeling of mediocrity running more or less throughout the entire film which cannot be evaded even by the aforementioned firy adventures of Harry and Dumbledore and their consequences. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is perhaps the weakest in the canon since the excellence of film number four – and sadly the curse of keeping the same director is set to continue with Yates at the helm of the franchise’s final instalments.

Rating: MMM