As an unabashed Harry Potter fan I was quick to call dibs on this one. I suppose this will colour the review for some of you, but luckily I don’t care.

I enjoyed Half-Blood Prince, which is not to say that it’s a particularly good movie. HBP is the second Potter to be directed by David Yates, and the screenplay is written by Steve Kloves, who is returning after being absent for the fifth movie. Perhaps Kloves is getting bored, but the movie seems rather disjointed. The various parts don’t hold together particularly well, and the ending (OMG DUMBLEDORE DIES but you knew that already) is much less emotional than it might be, far less so than Goblet of Fire’s harrowing climax. The film feels like it rushes over important bits and lingers over filler material, and there is an utterly unnecessary sequence added to the middle of the film where Kloves has clearly gone “Huh. Looks like we could do with an action beat here,” and has pulled a scene straight from his arse. You’ll know it when you see it.

That being said, there are some jaw-dropping moments here. I loved the Death Eater attack on London, the Quiddich showpiece and the firey standoff between Harry, Dumbledore and some watery corpses (which is pretty bloody creepy, actually.) The three main actor actors have matured and it’s safe to say their acting has never been better. Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe do a particularly good job of demonstrating the mateship between Ron and Harry, something that’s been glossed over or ignored for lame comic relief in the previous films. Emma Watson, to my relief, has finally gained control of her eyebrows, which might have made you seasick in previous instalments. She makes a great Hermione, finally. Of course, the rest of the all-star British cast shines as you’d expect. Jim Broadbent plays a pitiable Professor Slughorn, and Alan Rickman’s Snape glistens and glides through his scenes with dark charisma and considerable aplomb. It’s a shame there wasn’t more of him. The wonderfully witchy Dame Maggie Smith, Sir Michael Gambon, and Helena Bonham Carter also look like they’re all having a tonne of fun.

The problems with this movie are mostly inherent in the switch in medium from book to film. It’s still far better than Chris Columbus’ execrable first attempts, but it doesn’t scale the heights of Alfonso Cuaron’s Prisoner of Azkaban, which is a shame. As a friend pointed out to me, it’s a perfectly serviceable, enjoyable adaptation, but it seems to lack a little… magic.