Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

All Critics (255) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (218) | Rotten (42) | DVD (11)

I think it's the best of the series, fairly easily, and a testament to why occasionally throwing a massive budget at an endeavor of this scope can be considered a reasonable decision.

May 6, 2011 Full Review | Comment

Laremy Legel

Film.com

Top Critic

All in all, despite the verve that drives the grander set pieces, it's hard to avoid the sensation of a film toiling overtime to convince itself of its own solemnity.

July 20, 2009 Full Review | Comments (11)

Anthony Lane

New Yorker

Top Critic

Director David Yates presides over some gorgeous CGI set pieces, but all the real magic comes from the scrum of ace British character actors.

July 17, 2009 Full Review | Comment (1)

Cliff Doerksen

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

With its deft handling of teen yearning and affection, Half-Blood Prince maneuvers mysteries of heart and hankering that resound in worlds magic and Muggle.

July 17, 2009 Full Review | Comment

Lisa Kennedy

Denver Post

Top Critic

It's a more mature magic. ... Now subject to the same raging hormones as any other 16-year-olds, our spell-casting heroes are learning to brew love potions this year, with results mostly played for laughs.

July 17, 2009 Full Review | Comment

Bob Mondello

NPR

Top Critic

Potions play a pivotal part in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and I wish I'd been able to find one for patience.

July 16, 2009 Full Review | Comments (17)

Joe Morgenstern

Wall Street Journal

Top Critic

Okay, so it's a placeholder. But it's a really good placeholder.

April 4, 2011 Full Review | Comment

Dave White

Movies.com

Half-Blood Prince only really shines when the film's darker and lighter sides manage to meet together, usually when Slughorn is around.

March 22, 2011 Full Review | Comment

Joshua Starnes

ComingSoon.net

Yates & his technical team ... are the film's true magicians, taking the viewer's breath away ... with their cinematic craft, illusionistic skill and ... spellbinding wizardry

November 18, 2010 Full Review | Comment

Jason Best

Movie Talk

[Harry Potter] is now the lone beacon of despair for children in an increasingly pandering and brainless cinematic landscape; a Grimm tale that should satisfy the darker whims of imaginative children.

October 27, 2010 Full Review | Comment

Simon Miraudo

Quickflix

Running an obscene 2 1/2 hours, presenting a story which could have made a halfway decent half-hour episode of a half-assed TV series, this Potter has no focus, a comprehensive plot, any semblance of cohesion, purpose, meaning.

April 13, 2010 Full Review | Comments (29)

Janos Gereben

Entertainment Insiders

A pesar de su extensa duración, 153 minutos, la cinta mantiene un buen ritmo a pesar de su falta de acción. Brillante fotografía.

March 11, 2010 Full Review | Comment (1)

Luis Martinez

Cinenganos

Those previously in the dark about the story from books or films will remain so, for the 153 minutes make little clear aside from a Be-Sure-To-See-The-Sequel conclusion.

January 18, 2010 Full Review | Comments (4)

Donald J. Levit

ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is an icily grave and somber affair, with few moments of relief amid the mounting turmoil and a finale that blackens an already charcoal gray sky.

January 6, 2010 Full Review | Comment

Jordan Hiller

Bangitout.com

For all its focus on teen romantic entanglements, it sure has very little to do with the Half-Blood Prince.

December 12, 2009 Full Review | Comment

Wesley Lovell

Oscar Guy

While previous entries in the franchise spun their wheels a bit, The Half-Blood Prince has much clearer priorities.

December 11, 2009 Full Review | Comment

Rob Vaux

Sci-Fi Movie Page

...a deliberately paced, measured view of the characters, their motivations, and their relationships. (Blu-ray Ultimate Edition)

December 11, 2009 Full Review | Comment

John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

Vagabonding through time, Potter joins up again with his telepathic posse in this coming of agelessness new adventure, while dark forces penetrate the premises and the students experiment with various vials of wishful thinking pharmaceuticals.

December 5, 2009 Full Review | Comment

Prairie Miller

NewsBlaze

Potter hits puberty!

December 3, 2009 Full Review | Comment

Kam Williams

NewsBlaze

Visually appetizing sixth installment in the Harry Potter series.

December 1, 2009 Full Review | Comment

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

...one of the longest yet most-delightfully entertaining installments in the series.

November 30, 2009 Full Review | Comment

John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

Radcliffe, Grint and Watson are great as always, but director David Yates' adherence to realism stifles J.K. Rowling's trickster-storytelling wiles. Yates' horrifically bad botching of big-ticket moments bodes poorly for the "Deathly Hallows" films.

September 20, 2009 Full Review | Comments (10)

Nick Rogers

Suite101.com

full review on Movies for the Masses

September 11, 2009 Full Review | Comment

Joseph Proimakis

Movies for the Masses

• 1. Ron Weasley: So what is it he sees in her?
  2. Harry Potter: I don't know! She's smart, funny, attractive...
  3. Ron Weasley: ...attractive?
  4. Harry Potter: You know, she's got nice skin.
  5. Ron Weasley: Skin? You're saying Dean's dating my sister because of her skin?
  6. Harry Potter: Well, no, I mean I just...I'm just saying it could be a contributing factor.
  7. Ron Weasley: **long pause**...Hermionie's got nice skin, don't you say, as skin goes I mean?
  8. Harry Potter: ...I've never really thought about it...but I suppose yeah, very nice.
  9. Harry Potter: **even longer awkward pause**...I think i'll be going to sleep now.
  10. Ron Weasley: Right, yeah.
  11. Harry Potter: ***says nothing but you can tell he's thinking about it*** xD
  – Submitted by Katerina K (2 months ago)
• 1. Rubeus Hagrid: Seriously misunderstood creatures, spiders are. It's the eyes I reckon, they unnerve some people.
  2. Harry Potter: Not to mention the pincers [makes clicking sound and imitates fangs]
  3. Rubeus Hagrid: Yeah, that too I reckon...[ makes strange face]
  – Submitted by Katerina K (2 months ago)
• 1. Harry Potter: I'm not coming back Hermione. I've got to finish whatever Dumbledore started. And I don't know when I'm leaving, but I'll let you and Ron know where I am as soon as I can.
  2. Hermione Granger: I've always admired your courage Harry. Sometimes you can be really thick. You don't think you can find all those horcruxes by yourself, do you? You need us Harry.
  3. Harry Potter: I never realized how beautiful this place is.
  – Submitted by Michael C (4 months ago)
• 1. Narcissa Malfoy: He's just a boy.
  – Submitted by Asad C (9 months ago)
• 1. Hermione Granger: He's at perfect liberty to kiss whoever he likes, I really couldn't care less!!
  – Submitted by Asad C (9 months ago)