Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

The most beautiful magic in it is left unseen. And still, it emerges with absolute clarity.

San Francisco Chronicle Amy Biancolli

This film is the sharpest since "The Prisoner of Azkaban." It is the most emotionally satisfying, blending spot-on comedy and adenoidal sexual tension, with scenes of gutsy vulnerability.

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

By an order of magnitude --- the strongest (or at least the most mature, subtle and emotional) entry in the series thus far.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

But the story is, still and all, only a pause, deferring an intensely anticipated conclusion. And it's in that exquisite place of action and waiting that this elegantly balanced production emerges as a model adaptation.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

This one-of-a-kind film cycle has become as comfortable and reliable as an old shoe, providing a degree of dependability that's becoming increasingly rare.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Dazzlingly well made and perhaps deliberately less fanciful than the previous entries, this one is played in a mode closer to palpable life-or-death drama than any of the others and is quite effective as such.

New York Magazine David Edelstein

It was splendid! No, it’s not a larky kid-pic. We're firmly in the realm of English horror.

Village Voice Scott Foundas

Generally grim, occasionally startling, and altogether enthralling sixth chapter in a movie franchise that keeps managing to surprise just when one would expect it to be puttering along on auto-broomstick.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Getting lost in the hypnotic Half-Blood Prince is what gives the movie its haunting power.

USA Today Claudia Puig

One of the series's best, with spectacular effects, nuanced performances and witty dialogue.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

The most thoughtfully satisfying of the first six books.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

It flows like fast-moving lava to a climax filled with pyrotechnics. And for once in a summer blockbuster, the fireworks are both emotional and physical. The movie leaves you sated, yet wanting more -- just what you want from a series with two entries left to go.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

The latest, meticulously atmospheric and wonderfully acted Potter adventure lands happily--broodingly, but happily---near the top of the series heap, just behind Alfonso Cuaron's "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban."

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

There's something inherently funny about the romantic predicament of Harry and Ron and Hermione. As if it wasn't bad enough having to deal with the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters and all the rest, now they have to square off against... raging hormones.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

David Yates, in his go at the helm, throws the emphasis on the gathering storm clouds even as Harry and his fellow wizardry students make further discoveries involving the opposite sex.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

As for the ever-impressive supporting cast, neither a delightfully befuddled Jim Broadbent nor a wild-eyed Helena Bonham Carter can upstage Alan Rickman, who again proves invaluable as the slithery Prof. Snape.

Time Richard Corliss

With Half-Blood Prince, again we have a stalwart, satisfying visualization of the Rowling cosmos.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

The critical question for the movies' producers is whether Harry will be as popular now that his legions of stalwarts know how it all ends. The smart money would be on answering that question with a resounding "yes!"

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

The movie's climax takes Harry Potter into territory that is much more like epic horror than most of what the series has seen before. There is more obvious religious symbolism and apocalyptic violence as Harry emerges into his role as “the chosen one.”

NPR Bob Mondello

It's a more mature magic than in previous Potter movies.

New York Post Kyle Smith

"HP6" is suspenseful and artfully realized. It's a definite improvement over J.K. Rowling's dimly written and exposition-clogged book.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson

This is the darkest, saddest, most sophisticated Harry Potter film yet.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Slower and talkier than the five Potters that came before - but not necessarily in a bad way - Half-Blood Prince is a bubbling cauldron of hormonal angst, rife with romance and heartbreak, jealousy and longing.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Half-Blood Prince is the franchise's “Empire Strikes Back” -- the episode in which the pace slows down a bit, the characters deepen and mature, the good guys take a big hit, and all hell is gearing up to break loose.

New Orleans Times-Picayune Mike Scott

Director David Yates picks up where he left off with "Order of the Phoenix," assembling a nicely paced and artfully shot adventure.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

I admired this Harry Potter. It opens and closes well, and has wondrous art design and cinematography as always, only more so.

TV Guide Tracie Cooper

The good news is that it comes closer than any of its predecessors, hitting the mark or coming close to it on almost all fronts. With "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" being split into two films, the final installment stands an excellent chance of getting it right.

Slate Dana Stevens

Despite the preponderance of (PG-rated) snogging, there are pleasures to be found along this movie's meandering path.

Washington Post Dan Kois

The three leads, Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Rupert Grint (Ron) and Emma Watson (Hermione), give their most charming performances to date.

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

It’s always a pleasure to be in the company of Potter, and when looking back at the just-competent first outings – well, baby, you’ve come a long way – but still: Where’s the magic, huh?

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Installment six of the Harry Potter’ series, The Half-Blood Prince, merely gets us one movie closer to the finale, which, apparently is so big (and by big, I mean “$$$$’’) that it’s being split into two parts.

Empire Angie Errigo

We're marking time before the final battle between Good and Evil, with the promised darkness sitting somewhat clumsily with teen romance and humour.

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

Much like its young hero, played by Daniel Radcliffe, the film has begun to show signs of stress around the edges, a bit of fatigue, or maybe that’s just my gnawing impatience.

Chicago Reader Cliff Doerksen

For what it is, it's fine.

The New Yorker Anthony Lane

We get one lovely, cheering sequence of a trashed room putting itself in order, like the untidy nursery in "Mary Poppins," but the rest of the magic here feels randomly grabbed at.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

For those who’ve lived with the series for more than a decade, this fateful pause may heighten the suspense. For a Muggle like me, the storm does gather slowly.