MOVIE REVIEW: Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix

07/08/07

“Every great wizard in history has started out as nothing more then what we are now. If they can do it, why not us?” That’s the attitude Harry! Be strong and courageous, cause you‘re going to need it. As the classmates have grown and matured, so has this movie series. It is truly magical. The Harry Potter story is coming into focus. For those of us that haven’t read any of the books and rely on the movies to know what’s going on, this one puts things in perspective. This latest installment is full of action, conflict, and lots and lots of magic, and it’s all about the magic, isn’t it? There’s even a moment extremely reminiscent of the Star Wars saga, believe it or not, and for me, that is a good thing. Once you see it you’ll know what I mean.

The governing wizards don’t believe Harry’s claim that Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has returned. They fear that possibility so much that they’re denial drives them to attack Harry, Dumbledore, and all of Hogwarts for that matter. Most of your favorite characters do appear, even if just for a cameo. There are some new characters that really spiced things up a bit such as Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), a member of the high council who is assigned to Hogwarts and is a teacher/administrator from hell. Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) were great team players as always, although Ron’s role seemed less involved than normal. The maturing process is evident not only in the characters and story, but in the actors themselves as well. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) shines more and more with each performance, even though he is still the same isolated and tormented Harry.

In order for a movie of wizardry and magic to be magical, the special effects, well, have to be special (yeah, I couldn’t help myself). True to the Harry Potter name and franchise, this one did not fall short at all. It was all well done and a pleasure to watch.

It is hard to compare or rank this film among its siblings. They are all good. If you ask me, and if you’re reading this its because you are, I say this is the best one so far because it’s the one where I’ve been the least confused. Director David Yates has done a wonderful job in keeping this beautiful fantasy going. It’s good to know that he is scheduled to do the next one. I’m ready . . . hey Harry, do you think you could wave your wand and put me in 2008? On second thought, no, I don’t want to miss the movies between now and then.

Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com

People Review Harry Potter and The Order Of The Phoenix

Mary	70
The writer and director of the movie completely messed up a wonderfull book. A few poor job was done selecting which itmes to sut from the book, The ending was rushed and cut so much (one room, no Hermoine 'near death' ) that it lost its edge. Please bring back previous director for next film!

Rachel

For starters, this movie blew me away because it was unlike any other Harry Potter film ever created. It was taken to a completely new [and impressive] level of darkness, drama, suspense, and even the acting didn't seem so "rehearsed" but indeed had a smooth flow throughout the entire script. And there's another point, the film was not based on dialogue, but more so on flashy camera angles which range from pictures and waves coming from Harry's mind and also used to narrate the story without using words. (Which cuts what I thought would be a potential extra HOUR of film)
The epic saga of Harry Potter picks up right where it left off at Goblet of Fire, immediately following Cedric Diggory's death, and the return of Lord Voldemort. Miserable at Privet Drive, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) finds himself in a tight spot when he misuses underage magic privileges in front of evil cousin Dudley in their muggle hometown against of a pair of rogue dementors. He then finds himself facing an inquiry at the hands of Minister of Magic, Fudge whose main issue with Harry and his so-called "act of self-defense" is more rooted to the fact that he refuses to believe that Lord Voldemort is back. He puts his power as Minister to good use to have the "Daily Prophet" publish stories that DENY DENY DENY the return of Lord Voldemort and of course make Harry and Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) out to be crack-pots.
A secret society, The Order of the Phoenix including main characters like Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), Arthur Weasley, Aurors: Mad-Eye Moody, Tonks, Kingsley, and many others have started to conduct meetings once again to come up with a plan of action against Voldemort's uprise. Although not seen or mentioned much in the film, it can be assumed that the Order's meetings continue and it is also assumed that morale is low.
Back at Hogwarts, the morale here is also less than satisfactory. Many of Harry's classmates are readers of The Daily Prophet and begin to believe the lies it beholds. Harry finds himself, even with best friends Ron and Hermione (played by Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, respectively) beside him, completely alone. He's changing and he doesn't know why, or has completely understood his connection with Voldemort.
Dolores Umbridge (played masterfully by Imelda Staunton) is sent by the Ministry to keep an eye on Hogwarts, and ends up being quite the nightmare. As she first names herself High Inquisitor she begins to issue rules that even Dumbledore cannot override, and eventually takes over the school. The performance given by Staunton is superb and truly grasps that deliciously evil disciplinary figure masked by a too-perky, too-pink nightmare.
The film introduces some new characters and revives older ones that we deemed "unimportant" up until now. Examples include Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis), that we now find is someonewith a purpose and a past that even Harry can relate to. Also, Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright) steps up to the plate as a powerful witch who I would not want to get in a fist fight with. New to the long list of Hogwarts students is Luna Lovegood (perfectly captured by the real-life eccentric Evanna Lynch) who proves herself to be a good friend to Harry because of their similarities. She is of course, spacey, airy, and keeps on losing her shoes to forces not even I can explain, but is useful and provides Harry with SOMEONE he can actually relate to. Together along with the Weasley twins, and other students, they form whats called: Dumbledore's Army where Harry teaches his fellow students important spells that can defend them against dark forces, to Umbridge's utmost dismay.

Melissa

Well, i am a really big fan of harry potter series, but I thought that this movie was terrible!!! They chose the wrong things to cut out, NO QUIDDITCH!!! and they didn't really explain everything. like sure, everyone who watches the movie probably already read the book, but like for example, when the D.A. was discovered, it looked that it was Cho's fault and not that friend of hers, and also when cornlieus fudge is convicting dumbledore for making/having the army, technically, during the whole movie, they NEVER mentioned that the group was called the D.A....for dumbledore's army!!!!
well, there are a lot of pointers....but that's my thought about everything..