Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (PG, 2009)

I do not know why the MPAA found it fit to rate this movie PG, when it is parallel to Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix. Parents, do not be fooled, this movie is very deserving of a PG-13 rating, but somehow did not end up with it. The opening scene, along with the ending ones (where somebody is killed) maybe be too intense for kids -- specifically the opening one, which involves the collapse of a bridge. This movie also focuses on who is dating who and relationships, where the others don't touch on it so much. There is some kissing and a double line about "doing" something with someone in one scene. Characters are also drunk around teenagers and teens appear to be drinking (wine, but that is still not acceptable). This is a much better movie than the others, stayed more faithful to the book (except for one scene...) and was still a good watch. Just be careful with the rating.

It was a decent movie, all in all. It followed the book (more or less) and has reasonable acting. The scene where Dumbledore and Potter are traversing the lake with the ghouls could be scary for younger children. Also, usually in movies like this, the bad guys eventually become better. Not in this. The antagonists in this movie are cruel, unchangeable, and definitely not poster children for kindness. If your kids want to see an exciting movie with great effects, but you don't want to expose them to something like "Clash of the Titans", this is a good choice.

Perfect for kids 10 and up. I think there wasn't really anything scary until the skeletons in the lake near the end of the movie. If you read the book, it was expected and not that shocking. I can't wait for the next two movies.

its not as bad as some people say. great movie, and great plot. love all of the movies.

this is a great movie, i liked it the best in all of the movies, i thought that it was an amazing mix of love and action, a must see for all harry potter fans

I am completely and totally obsessed with Harry Potter, so this review may be a bit bias but... I LOVED IT! If you haven't seen HBP yet, you definitely should. While there is a bit of drinking, it's not a huge deal and barely prominent except for in one scene. Harry, Ron and Hermione drink butterbeer, but butterbeer contains very little alcohol (as said in book four) and so it's not a big deal. Drinking is only prominent in one scene, when a major character is poisoned. Ron is often caught staring at Hermione's lips (laughs gleefully) and there is a lot of flirting between the two, but then Ron snogs another character, leaving a heartbroken Hermione (played excellently by Emma Watson, who is really at her best in this movie) to sob with Harry, who is also pining over his crush. It is a very, very sad scene (or at least it was for me, because I am in love with the idea of Ron and Hermione) and made me a little misty, so it might upset younger children, who will not understand exactly what is going on, but will be upset that the female lead is crying. Also, there is a blood curling scream that comes out of nowhere, which can be a shock to people who have not read the books and didn't know what was coming. During a very dark scene, extras are shown in a corridor making out and smoking something. Two major characters (NOT teens) get very drunk, one to the point of passing out, but it is done comediclly.Kids might be frightened by a giant, dead spider. Teens start relationships, flirt, end relationships, cry over relationships- overall, HBP is more sexually charged then the other Harry Potter movies, which is wonderful for adult and teen viewers such as myself, my mom, and my grandmother, but not so much for the younger kids. As for violence, well, there's a disgustingly bloody scene, but the character is Healed. The worst part is when disgusting skeletal creatures kind of attempt to kill Harry... it's pretty gross, definitely something I'd have my kid close its eyes for if I had one. Another unsettling part of the movie would be when a huge character dies. It is drawn out and very, very sad. All of the characters cry and are devastated. However, this is nothing compared to what I presume will happen in the seventh movie, because in the seventh book characters start dropping like flies. So, all in all, bring your older tweens, but keep seven year olds away from your TV and use your own judgment on your eight year olds. It's definitely fine for 9, unless you don't want your nine year old to see a lot of kissing and teen relationships.

This is the funniest HP movie yet -- most of the humor is about the awkwardness of young love. Other laughs emerge as the 3 main characters realize that their problems keep reoccurring. It's the nervous laughs of inevitabililty. I saw this movie with three 10-year-old Harry Potter fans. They haven't finished the series yet, but they have seen all the previous movies and read some of the books. We liked it. This was not as violent as some other films rated PG -- including The Lion, The Witch & the Wardrobe (battle scenes and gruesome killing of Aslan are much worse), Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (gory battles), City of Embers (much darker) or the PG-13 Golden Compass (rather weird & violent) and Pirates/Caribbean 3. The violence includes: Harry's bloody nose, Draco bloody after Harry nearly kills him in fear, and the death of a major character at the end. True, the Death Eaters and Bellatrix can be scary, but we didn't think they were as scary as the last movie. Bellatrix (played by Helen Bonham Carter) was so over the top she came off silly and childish (slightly amusing, too). Toward the end, the weird, gaunt bodies that try to grab Harry in the water in the underground cave are rather terrifying. They scared the kids the most. (I thought they looked like a contorted old Led Zepplin album cover.) You can close your eyes during that part and not miss the plot. The violence will seem more dramatic on the big screen, rather than on a DVD via TV. On a TV screen, this HP will seem tame compared to the previous 2 movies. Draco has interesting moral choices in the film. His actions could lead to good discussions about what he chose. You could also have positive discussions about young romance problems and girl/boy friendships. I like the way the 3 friends want to work together to help Harry. Ron's sister, Ginny, is becoming a good fourth friend. Good conversations could happen later about how siblings interact in this film, too. This film doesn't follow the book quite as closely as earlier movies. You may need to brush up on characters (such as Luna, Draco, Snape, Bellatrix) beforehand to better understand their personalities and motives. Like earlier films, this one has imaginative sets and the Quidditch scenes just keep getting better. This film is also not as grand in scope earlier ones. I think even 8 year olds that know that story (perhaps thru older siblings) and have seen similar types of films will have a good time. Go with your kids, even teen-agers, so you can have interesting conversations with them afterwards.

I saw this with my 10 year old (huge fan of the books and the movies) and we had a great time. The flirting was cute/funny and I thought it was great that Harry and Hermione were so supportive of each other in their love triangles. There were only a few scary parts, not nearly as many as there could have been, given the content of the book. I thought Spiderwick was a much scarier movie with all the monster attacking/chasing kid scenes. I also thought the movie illustrated how important it is to keep striving toward your goal.