Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince were, in my mind, the weakest of the Harry Potter books. Phoenix was overly long and dense, with many dull passages that could have been excised, while Prince felt like one long setup for the seventh and final book in the series. So it’s all the more impressive that director David Yates has managed to turn these two slogfests into the two best Harry Potter films since Prisoner of Azkaban. And while Yates doesn’t have the authorial touch of Alfonso Cuaron, he does have the best handle on the meat of the material of any of the series’ directors. Visually, he pushes even further than he did on Phoenix, with several stunning shots that are set to impress. Less interesting is his continued infatuation with draining most of the color from his shots, and flattening the image so it almost looks like the actors are blending into the sets. I’m not really sure the reason for such a stylistic choice, but when the film runs over two hours it gets to be a little much.

But that’s really my only gripe with the film. By now, the actors know these characters like the back of their hands, so it doesn’t take much to get them going. Daniel Radcliffe is once again exactly who we think of when we think of Harry (and, let’s face it, by this point Rowling clearly modeled the book versions of the characters after their cinematic counterparts). Grint and Watson play the burgeoning Ron/Hermione relationship to a T, and Alan Rickman is as deliciously laconic as ever. The best performance comes, not surprisingly, from Michael Gambon as Dumbledore. As you probably already know, Gambon replaced Richard Harris after the latter actor died, and while I have no wish to disrespect the dead, Gambon is a much better choice. Harris was creaky and stuffy as Dumbledore, whereas Gambon imbues the character with life and a youthful vitality.

The plot of the movie feels slightly episodic, as there’s not one main villain to defeat, or even a singular goal such as the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Instead, the film mainly focuses on the romantic relationships of the leads, including many humorous scenes between Ron, Hermione, and another student named Lavender. Somewhat surprisingly, Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves decided to shy away from the mystery that gives the picture its title: A potions book with notes scribbled on it by a mysterious ex-student named the Half-Blood Prince. While the book and its contents played a major role in the novel, in the movie it’s merely an afterthought. The book itself is tossed away before the third act begins and is not mentioned again until the end in an abrupt reveal. It’s a strange move and had the plot not contributed to the title I wonder if it might have been excised completely.

Still, these are nitpics, as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is easily in the top tier of the Potter series, along with its predecessor and Azkaban. The majority of its shortcomings stem from the source material, and Yates and company have once again done their very best to bring the series to life. The movie is set to make about a gazillion dollars at the box office, but unlike its recent blockbuster brethren, Half-Blood Prince is actually enjoyable.