Boy wizard Harry Potter is growing up. Romance is in the air in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” the movie with the most laugh-out-loud moments in the series. It’s not all fun and games, however, as some of the series’ most harrowing moments to date also populate “Half-Blood,” directed by David Yates.

Hogwarts, the wizarding school that once was the safe haven of Harry and his mates, is protected from the outside world no longer. The dark wizard Voldemort, who killed Harry’s parents, has returned, and his Death Eaters are brazenly attacking both wizards and Muggles.

Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), headmaster of Hogwarts, must lure a former professor of potions, Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent, “Bridget Jones’s Diary”) back to the school. Now that Voldemort has returned, Dumbledore believes a memory the professor has of former student Tom Riddle, who became Voldemort, might hold the key to defeating the dark wizard.

Dumbledore appeals to Slughorn’s love for celebrity to attract him back. If he returns, he could be the teacher of the chosen one himself, Harry.

In Slughorn’s advanced potions class, Harry receives a textbook inscribed with “property of the Half-Blood Prince.” The notes throughout the book allow Harry to excel at potions but also expose him to some dark magic.

Potter, who shared his first kiss with Cho Chang in the series’ previous film, is discovering he has feelings for Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright). But her status as the sister of his close friend Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) leaves him unsure of how to proceed.

Ron, meanwhile, lands his first girlfriend, the bubbly Lavender Brown (Jessie Cave). Lavender’s the near-opposite of the studious Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), who feels pangs of jealousy as she realizes she has feelings for Ron. Love and the lack thereof provide several laughs throughout the film, as young women with eyes for Harry’s celebrity status go to great lengths to gain his attention.

But some growing pains can bring anguish.

Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), Harry’s former rival, has been tasked with a mission for the dark lord Voldemort. And Voldemort’s ally, Bellatrix LeStrange (Helena Bonham Carter) makes sure Professor Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) makes an unbreakable vow to help him.

Meanwhile, Snape holds secretive conferences with Dumbledore, leaving his motives a mystery.

Dumbledore realizes he must prepare Harry for the final battle with Voldemort.

“Once again, I must ask too much of you, Harry,” Professor Dumbledore says before taking Harry on a dangerous mission in which Harry takes steps toward becoming a more proactive hero.

Yates, who is working on the final two “Potter” films, to be based on the final book in the series, sets up the final conflict well in “Half-Blood Prince.” Freed of the constraints to be slavishly consistent with the book, Yates makes a “Potter” that sings as a film, taking viewers from laughter to near tears. Probably the best adaptation of what’s been a very good series, “Half-Blood Prince” is a royal success.

— Matthew Price

PG
2:33
3 stars

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman.

(Scary images, some violence, language, mild sensuality)

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