So you can't condense an 800-900 page to 2 hours, but director David Yates did a good job in his attempt. A much darker, more mature movie but without losing its sense of humor and captivating magic, the Half Blood Prince, has gone a long way since its cutesy and bouncy beginnings. The story is a bit rushed, and a newcomer to the Harry Potter series would have trouble following the sequences. To say the least, it's still a good movie.