After an impatient eighteen months, the latest installment of the wildly popular Harry Potter films has finally made it onto the silver screen. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will inevitably conquer the box office, as its predecessors have done, to become one of the biggest movies of the summer. But popularity aside – was it worth the wait?

Absolutely.

Returning from another dark year at Hogwarts, the undertones of this sixth film seem just as bleak. With the evil Lord Voldemort in hiding but at large, not even the ignorant muggle world is spared the havoc that his followers are making throughout England.

London’s Millennium Bridge is the first to go in a visually-spectacular opening scene that sets an early benchmark for the dark events yet to occur.

Read the rest of the review after the jump.

Nevertheless, action sequences are scarce in this latest Potter installment, with the spotlight mostly shining on the characters and their respective conflicts.

Rowling’s sixth novel was always going to make a difficult transition from book to screen, as it acts more like an informative prequel to the grand finale than an adventure unto its own. But writer Steve Kloves (who’s written every film save the fifth) admirably adapts the original text into a darkly-humorous and fast-moving narrative, helping it emerge as the best Potter film to date.

As it has been awhile since Harry Potter graced our screens, many of the audience will be left grasping at straws as they try to remember what Harry and his friends faced in their last adventure.

David Yates, who returns to the director’s seat after debuting with The Order of the Phoenix, makes no attempt to jog our memories (and, to be fair, neither does Kloves).

In what may be one of the few weak points of this film, The Half-Blood Prince soldiers through an intricately woven world of spells, and magical artifacts without pausing to debrief the viewer on what, exactly, is, and has been, going on. Nevertheless, once the effects of the early shocks cool off, the plot becomes more apparent.

Draco Malfoy (played by Tom Felton), is appointed a task by Voldemort (played by Ralph Fiennes) which requires him to choose once and for all whether he is as bad as he claims to be. While he struggles with this dilemma, Harry is busy escaping attacks from Death Eaters, helping Dumbledore retrieve memories that will assist them in their attempt to bring about the demise of the “One who Must Not Be Named.”

And although the magical world has plunged into war,  Harry and his friends are still teenagers trying to deal with everyday problems: Harry starts to develop a romantic interest in his best friend Ron’s sister, Ginny (the vivacious Bonnie Wright) while Ron gets a girlfriend and Hermione’s quiet crush on him turns into a fiery jealousy.

And though the romantic tension is still awkward on screen, Rupert Grint has most certainly improved comedically as Harry’s sidekick and Emma Watson continues to push Hermione’s character to greater dramatic heights.

Daniel Radcliffe, however, still seems awkward in his role as Harry. Luckily, it works, evoking the awkward teenage adolescent tones running throughout the film.  It may just be that The Half-Blood Prince is more about teen angst and romance than fighting off fantastical evil, citing its honest portrayal of human failings and rampaging hormones as the central forces in throughout.

Fans may have been wondering when the two-dimensional character of Draco would come to life on screen. After five films worth of lifeless cameos, Felton finally gets his chance to shine in The Half-Blood Prince. The young actor pulls off the difficult task, breathing some life into the blonde school bully.

He is still Harry’s enemy and the audience will continue to dislike him, but Felton does a fine job in bringing out a more emotional and boyishly confused side of the character.

With emotions running at an all-time high and the threat of death never greater, Yates’ decision to bring back Quidditch could not have come at a better time.

Using advanced CGI techniques, the wizard game played on broomsticks has been dramatically improved since its last appearance in the third movie. Warner Brothers’ millions clearly paid off in the exhilarating scenes  which Radcliffe and Grint zoom about in a flash of gold and red – kids around the world will be racing to buy the new Potter video game thanks to this scene alone.

But the game’s return does not match the overall look of the Potter world, which improves with each new addition. A perfect example courtesy of the scene at Weasley Wizard Wheezes joke shop. The incredibly genuine-looking magical items, coupled with the fantastic ideas of Rowling’s own creation, really make this film one of a kind.

Yates has produced the most faithful adaptation of all the Harry Potter movies made so far, creating a piece of entertainment fans of the book will greatly appreciate. And for the average viewer, the cinematic flair that every Potter film brings to the screen is personified here, and then some.

9 out of 10

What did you think of the film? What is your favorite Harry Potter movie?