First Hit: Long, dark, and boring with virtually nothing in it to make it interesting.
A series of films on a particular subject or character have a general rule over time, they get worse unless someone really creates a new story line with a unique view or character.
The Batman series was failing until Batman Begins came along which put a new fresh light on the character.
By the 3rd film in the Star Wars series the franchise was headed downhill despite being produced by one of the best producers ever.
Star Trek became a joke after hitting its zenith with The Wrath of Khan and then came the 2009 film Star Trek which was spot on perfect and will do wonders to revitalize the series. Harry Potter is suffering greatly from this malaise and with this latest offering hasn’t found any new life yet.
Half-Blood Prince is a title looking for a story; a film looking for something to shoot.
The film begins with Rampaging Death Eaters? Who are these things and why do they exist? Nothing in the film gives us any background about what and why they are; although I did enjoy Helena Bonham Carter because she brought some fun, charisma and focus to these death eaters.
Lastly, why did Dumbledore have to keep asking Harry to trust him? Jeez they’ve been together for years now and if that trust wasn’t already established then what the hell are these characters about?
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint reprise their roles of Harry, Hermione and Ron respectively. All of these actors appeared to be unpracticed and unrehearsed in roles which they should be familiar with because this is there 6th film together in the same roles. The actors which stand out in this film are Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange and Alan Rickman as Professor Snape. Rickman commands you watch him in his scenes and makes good on his practice to deliver. Director David Yates got little or nothing out of the rest of his actors but maybe it simply because it was a bad script looking for an interesting story.
Overall: Every film needs to stand on its own and shouldn't require seeing previous films or, in this case, the reading J.K. Rowling's books on which they are based. I’ve not read the books but I’ve seen all the films and this one is the worst one yet.