?Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?
D: David Yates
S: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint

MANILA, Philippines?In David Yates? screen adaptation of JK Rowling?s ?Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,? the gifted teenage wizard (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends, Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), realize there?s more to life than wizards? wands, witches? brews, Quidditch matches, and deadly duels with Lord Voldemort?s Death Eaters: The heady exhilaration of young love!

Set during Harry?s sixth year at Hogwarts, the latest installment follows Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) as he strikes a diabolical deal with Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter) and the morally ambiguous Professor Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), and explores Voldemort?s sketchy past during his Tom Riddle heyday at Hogwarts, under the tutelage of Professor Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent), who?s now the school?s Potions instructor.

Key to immortality

Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) orders Harry to extract key memories from Slughorn, who refuses to discuss Tom?s past. In possession of the luck-attracting Felix Felicis potion and the notes of the mysterious Half-Blood Prince, Harry retrieves memories for the headmaster?s mystic runes-covered pensieve, which then reveals the secret to the vengeful wizard?s immortality?the splintered fragments attached to Dark Magic objects called horcruxes!

However, Harry?s attention is torn between preparing for the final showdown with his formidable foe and his growing infatuation with Ron?s sister, Ginny. Meanwhile, Ron is caught in a romantic love triangle between the seethingly jealous Hermione and the overly demonstrative Lavender Brown?especially after Harry and Hermione turn their geeky pal into Hogwarts? most exciting Quidditch hero! For the adorable trio, magic spells are no match for the power of hormone-fueled adolescent ardor!

Clocking in at two hours and 33 minutes, the movie is a little too long, but Radcliffe and Gambon?s easy chemistry and confident performances keep viewers empathizing with them. Grint is more at ease this time?in fact, he?s pretty hilarious in his scenes with Lavender and Hermione. But, the film?s most endearing and sympathetic performers are Broadbent, whose mournful eyes vividly convey Slughorn?s tortured soul, and the very lovely Watson, who evinces more growth than any other actor in the series.

Magical journey

Yates continues to steer the ever-improving and increasingly darker franchise in the right direction. Now, more than ever, the changing of the ?Potter? films? directorial guards through the years makes more sense.

In ?Half-Blood Prince,? the forces between good and evil are in a constant flux?and we can?t wait to see if Yates can top these exciting dynamics when the series finally runs its course in two years? time.

Ironically, while the Quidditch scenes and Harry and Dumbledore?s battle with the zombie-like Inferi are breathtaking, it?s really the more human aspects of the film?s encounters that make the movie a more compelling watch.

Harry?s adventures make him realize that he lives in an increasingly complex world that offers no quick fixes to problems?not even an antidote to the sacrificial death of a beloved mentor!