Spoiler Alert! If you haven't read the book, you probably won't like the movie anyway.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince skips over large parts of the book, such as memories of Voldemort's past, and even entire characters, like newly-appointed Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour. However, once you get passed a moment of "Hey, what about Kreacher and Dobby?" you move on and enjoy the film. HBP works not despite omitted chapters, but because of them. The plot of HBP is largely focused on the romantic relationships and general awkward sexual tension between Harry and Ginny, and Ron and Hermione (and Lavender Brown and Romilda Vane). The emphasis on characters over plot allows the film to breathe on its own, and offers a compliment rather than a reenactment of the book.
Another surprise is the anticlimacticity (there's no reason why that should not be a word) of the climax. There's no big action scene or battle. While to a certain extent this is odd and disappointing, it works because everybody knows that Snape kills Dumbledore at the end of the book. This fact was boldly written in chalk on the side of a house in my college neighborhood. No matter how dramatically this scene played out, it was not about to be a shock. So, instead, Yates pulls it in the other direction, placing characters over curses. This is not to say that HBP is light-hearted or gentle in any way. The film's charm is an ominous reminder of what's at risk, and ultimately raises the stakes for the final films—and the real showdown.
At the end of the day, HBP has a certain finesse in the acting and direction that isn't present in the other movies. Little moments like when Harry and Ron both dive for the one nice-looking Potions textbook really show the characters as people and friends. There are also many ways in which one can become intoxicated in the wizarding world, and these are fully taken advantage of, showcasing Radcliffe's comedy chops. I also liked the slight nods to the franchise itself, and its inevitable redundancies. In one scene, Professor McGonagall shakes her head at the three leads, inquiring as to why the trio is always present when there's trouble. In other words, HBP isn't trying to be the book. It takes advantage of that which is cinematic—moments that don't have the same impact on the page. With a self-referential ease, Yates takes a step back and closes in on character nuances and what the story is really about: teenagers growing up.
The Half-Blood Prince was my favorite book in the series, and it could be my favorite film as well, though I should probably go back and re-watch the others. In any case, HBP did not disappoint, and I look forward to the final installments.
