Movie Review: The Order of the Pheonix

by Nathan
          
For Harry Potter fans, the fifth movie- “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”- launched mere days before the seventh and final book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (due out July 21, 2007). This movie is just as, if not more, blockbuster than the other films. Directed by David Yates and written by Michael Goldenberg, this movie is about as cannon from the book as it is possible to be- and considering that the book is over 850 pages, that’s a feet worth mentioning!

Just as dark and complex as the book, yet light-hearted at the same time. Newcomers to the series include Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), Helena Bonham-Carter (Belatrix Lestrange), and Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge), all of whom bring their respected characters to life. I was deeply impressed by all three> Luna is one of my favorite characters, and she was exactly as I imagined. Umbridge made me cringe just as she did in the book, and Belatrix was completely demented.

Many of the lines in the movie were verbatim from the book. However, the pacing seemed off. Some parts were fast, while others were slower. Fred and George’s dramatic flight from school with fireworks, and the final battle in the Ministry were my favorite scenes. Of course, I went to the IMAX, where I saw the final battle in 3-D!

Although some scenes were cut such as the St. Mungos scene and the Sanpe’s Worst Memory scene (although that was a flashback), the director did a fantastic job with the move. My first disappointment with it was Daniel Radcliffe’s (Harry’s) lack of full emotions. He had many emotions, but they weren’t the same as the book. For example, Harry shouted a plethora of times in the book, using a capital letters to express his frustrations. My second disappointment was that Order of the Phoenix is the longest book in the series, yet it is the shortest film at a whopping 2 hours and 15 minutes. Since I saw in at the IMAX, the final 20 or so minutes were in astounding 3-D, which definitely brought the book’s climax to life.

All-in-all, I would have to say that I was extremely impressed with the film. Film rating: 4 out of 5.