I promised this one a long time ago....

I was there at the midnight showing, second in line with my fiance. We waited 4 1/2 hours in line to see this. It was worth every second.

That's right, I really enjoyed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009). It showcased the best acting I've seen in a Harry Potter movie, the best production value, and created the mood and setting extremely well.

This movie had a mixed setting: young love and terror of death. I truly believe that even though they left some things out from the book, and changed a few things to make them work on the big screen, this movie was a solid Harry Potter movie. It embodied everything a Harry Potter movie should, and did so--in my opinion--better than any of its predecessors. It created the setting, the magic, the story, and it did so believably. It didn't lose any completely necessary part of the plot, and added only one unnecessary scene: the Burrow getting blown up. It was a good scene, don't get me wrong, but I don't feel it was needed for the story.

The acting in this film was significantly better than in previous Harry Potter films. Emma Watson, the actress who plays Hermione Granger, finally figured out that she doesn't have to move her eyebrows when she speaks. Michael Gambon (Dumbledore) gives a spectacular performance. Jim Broadbent (Slughorn) is new to the Harry Potter films, but he does an awesome job as well.

The music did an excellent job of creating a dark and depressing mood when it needed to and a flirty funny mood during times of teen drama. The soundtrack is a good one.

The film is a well made film and could be enjoyed by those who are not Harry Potter fans.

This film is rated PG-13 and runs 153 minutes.

I give this one 9 out of 10 ramheads.