Hogwarts Herald

***WARNING - may contain spoilers***

So, it’s officially out! The fifth movie in the Harry Potter series, “Order of the Phoenix,” officially opens today - The first public screening started at 12 midnight -

It was an extremely difficult task to slice down the text of Book 5 - a book with so much (girth) plot and character development - to fit into a 2 hour film and still move along the story enough to pick up with the next installment. As I’ve read in other reviews, this is definitely a film for fans of the books; the creators took quite a few leaps of faith assuming that their audience is already aware of the back story as they hopped from plot point to plot point.

As I am a big fan of the novels, I did enjoy the movie and the experience of watching the first run of a movie.

The movie beginning was a bit long and “artsy” for the pace of the remainder of the movie - the opening scene shows Harry at a playground being tormented by cousin Dudley but Harry’s anger is quickly overshadowed by the arrival of dementors. The story is set in motion as Harry is forced to use magic in front of muggles to ward off the attack.

The Order of the Phoenix arrives at Privit Drive to rescue Harry and escort him to the Black House in London. I was disappointed in the use of the Black House - I had really enjoyed the scenes in the book that centered there -

Mr. Weasley accompanies Harry to an inquisition at the Ministry of Magic - where Harry is accused of the underage use of magic in front of muggles without cause. Luckily, Harry is cleared of the charges - but he quickly finds out that no one really believes (or wants to believe) that the Dark Lord has returned. The Ministry was well represented - showing the magical world of bureaucracy, even if at it’s worst.

Harry is able to return to Hogwarts, but it is no longer the accepting refuge that he had previously enjoyed. Between his classmates distrust and the Ministry’s attempts to stifle the students’ freedoms (personified in new Professor of the Dark Arts, Delores Umbridge), Harry feels more alone than ever, except, perhaps for his newfound compatriot, Luna Lovegood (a, seemingly, off center Ravenclaw). The movie depicted Professor Umbridge quite well, although Imedla Staunton really never resembles a toad - she’s believable as a blind follower of her superiors/ideals, but she didn’t really have the underlying ugliness that Umbridge had in the book. Luna, on the other hand, was great - her character was my favorite part of the movie.

When it become apparent that the students are going to have to act on their own if they want to continue their practical training of magic - they turn to Harry - as he is the one among them with real experience defending against really dark arts. Dumbledore’s Army is created. These scenes were great - showing the kids learning and practicing the spells, as Umbridge and her minions attempt to thwart their efforts. In the wake, we’re introduced (quite suddenly) to Hagrid’s Giant brother, Dumbledore is dismissed, George and Fred get expelled and Harry and Cho snog.

Through Harry’s new found “gift” of “seeing” the students determine that “you know who” is on the move and attacking the Order (most specifically, Sirus Black) - they journey to the Ministry to save Black and fight the death eaters. The scenes here are entertaining, but a bit scattered; again, a knowledge of the book(s) is invaluable - Sirius is killed by his cousin, Askaban escapee, Bellatrix Lestrange - Harry’s anger is again, quelled by an more dangerous presence - Lord Voldamort. Harry and Dumbledore vanquish the dark lord - but not before he is, finally, seen by the Minister of Magic and others.

There is a lot of humor and excitement in this 5th Harry Potter film. I thoroughly enjoyed it - it wasn’t 100% true to the book - but it told the story well -

Can’t wait for next week to see how it all ends!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, OOTP, Harry Potter Movies, Movie Review