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A movie directed by David Yates
< read all 8 reviewsHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
-
Dec 24, 2010
- by Stephanie_Smith19
Rating:
+5
Despite the fact that so many people dislike this volume of the Harry Potter series, this is actually my favourite film out of all of them, mostly because of the end scene at the ministry, the general mix of heartfeltness and humour, and the addition of Umbridge as a secondary villain. I loved Imelda Staunton's performance in this role, as she encompassed Umbridge from the books pretty well. As much as I like this film, there are definitely some things wrong with it.
I'll start off with the wrong things. First of all, the pacing is kind of off, and out of all the movies, it's probably the least faithful to it's respective book. I also didn't much care for the "romance" between Harry and Cho Chang, encircling around that incredibly awkward kiss in the middle of the movie. I thought that was pointless and could have been cut out of the movie all together. I liked Cho Chang somewhat in the books, and in the movies, she serves little purpose other than a personality-less love interest to Harry who ends up ditching Dumbledore's Army and just being a sad coward.
So I've bashed it in such a way that you're probably wondering why I gave it a 100%. Well, besides what I previously mentioned, I love every other aspect of the movie. Firstly, the performances are top-notch as always, and it fleshes out the new characters without sacrificing the development of the old ones. The new characters it introduces in this movie are mostly Order members, like Tonks, Kingsley, and further developments on Lupin and Mad-Eye. The actors in these roles all do splendidly, as well as the recurring actors.
Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson never fail to disappoint, and this movie includes probably their best performances to date. I think that's because they've been cemented in these roles for over five years and they are finally secure with them just as the franchise is hitting the middle of Harry's Hogwarts years. I also loved the introduction of Umbridge as a secondary villain. She truly does set the tone for her character in the seventh book. Again, I haven't seen the seventh movie, so I don't know how her character in the seventh book is adapted to the screen, but I will be seeing it sometime this week, so you can expect a review of it.
The visuals are still top-notch, as always, but they are improved upon in this film with the addition of the Ministry and the Department of Mysteries. Also, everything just seems to be in a different colour scheme than the other films. I can't really explain it, it just seems slightly grayer without being full-on black and white. I also liked the design of the Order headquarters too, and the visuals match the dark nature of the story perfectly. Nothing much else to say, but great visuals for a great story.
The climax is also epic, and perfectly told similarly to the book. Not exactly identically, but similarly. The other parts of the story besides the climax were great, albeit the pacing being a bit off, especially the bits with Dumbledore's army and Umbridge. Needless to say, the story is great and it's what makes it my favourite entry in the series.
If you haven't seen this movie and you're a fan of the series, it's definitely worth a look. By far the best film i've seen in the new wave of potter, this is my favourite entry and it will always be, unless Deathly Hallows part I is better. All in all, a fantastic movie in a fantastic series.
I'll start off with the wrong things. First of all, the pacing is kind of off, and out of all the movies, it's probably the least faithful to it's respective book. I also didn't much care for the "romance" between Harry and Cho Chang, encircling around that incredibly awkward kiss in the middle of the movie. I thought that was pointless and could have been cut out of the movie all together. I liked Cho Chang somewhat in the books, and in the movies, she serves little purpose other than a personality-less love interest to Harry who ends up ditching Dumbledore's Army and just being a sad coward.
So I've bashed it in such a way that you're probably wondering why I gave it a 100%. Well, besides what I previously mentioned, I love every other aspect of the movie. Firstly, the performances are top-notch as always, and it fleshes out the new characters without sacrificing the development of the old ones. The new characters it introduces in this movie are mostly Order members, like Tonks, Kingsley, and further developments on Lupin and Mad-Eye. The actors in these roles all do splendidly, as well as the recurring actors.
Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson never fail to disappoint, and this movie includes probably their best performances to date. I think that's because they've been cemented in these roles for over five years and they are finally secure with them just as the franchise is hitting the middle of Harry's Hogwarts years. I also loved the introduction of Umbridge as a secondary villain. She truly does set the tone for her character in the seventh book. Again, I haven't seen the seventh movie, so I don't know how her character in the seventh book is adapted to the screen, but I will be seeing it sometime this week, so you can expect a review of it.
The visuals are still top-notch, as always, but they are improved upon in this film with the addition of the Ministry and the Department of Mysteries. Also, everything just seems to be in a different colour scheme than the other films. I can't really explain it, it just seems slightly grayer without being full-on black and white. I also liked the design of the Order headquarters too, and the visuals match the dark nature of the story perfectly. Nothing much else to say, but great visuals for a great story.
The climax is also epic, and perfectly told similarly to the book. Not exactly identically, but similarly. The other parts of the story besides the climax were great, albeit the pacing being a bit off, especially the bits with Dumbledore's army and Umbridge. Needless to say, the story is great and it's what makes it my favourite entry in the series.
If you haven't seen this movie and you're a fan of the series, it's definitely worth a look. By far the best film i've seen in the new wave of potter, this is my favourite entry and it will always be, unless Deathly Hallows part I is better. All in all, a fantastic movie in a fantastic series.
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FM_ALEX
December 30, 2010
Love Helena Bonham Carter in these, great review.
woopak_the_thrill
January 01, 2011
I also like it when they got the franchise to play a little darker.
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Scotman
December 24, 2010
The film cut out the defense of elves or something if I remember correctly, which was fine with me! Overall the spirit of the book was successfully inserted into the film. Good review.
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More Harry Potter and the Order of ... reviews
It's based on a horrible book and does a good job of rescuing the "Harry Potter" concept from the "Harry Potter" in the novel. No easy feat.
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is another great installment in the Harry Potter series (and, in my opinion, much better than Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Widescreen Edition)). It features the internal dissension in the wizard world between those fear Lord Voldemort versus the bureaucrats who fear losing power. Imelda Staunton as the Ministry of Magic bureaucrat Prof. Umbridge plays her part well. Often funny, always perky, she steals the movie. She has a great soundtrack theme as well. Nicholas Hooper's theme for Prof. … more
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Quick Tip by Scotman.
November 01, 2009
Excellent adaptation though the book is better.
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Compliment
The 5th movie in the Harry Potter series is again a great installment in this movie franchise. As usual, the mood is darker than the previous movie, though we do have some true romance in this one. The cast is big, as we have numerous characters from all the previous movies, with several new ones, both students and professors. Alas this is the first movie without any Quidditch scenes, though this is more than compensated by some awesome broomstick flying thru downtown London. And we finally have … more
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Compliment
No one who has stated that this film feels like a "Cliff's Notes" version of the wonderful J.K. Rowling novel, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is wrong. They are 100% correct. With that said, however, I must admit that I still enjoyed this film. For fans of the books (like myself), this film could be very brutal at times, eliminating the bulk of the tale in order to swiftly move to the primary story. In essence, this film paid lipservice to most of the parts of the book that didn't deal … more
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Compliment
Pros: Imagery, imagination, pacing, and a fantastic battle Cons: Dolores Umbrage The Bottom Line: Ignore the book vs movie battle. If you like the series this won't disappoint. If you are new to it, don't start with this one. Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie''s plot. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) finds himself in the muggle world during summer break with … more
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About the reviewer
Stephanie_Smith19
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Nov 29, 2010
Last Login: Apr 23, 2012 10:20 PM UTC
Last Login: Apr 23, 2012 10:20 PM UTC
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About this movie
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a 2007 fantasy-adventure film directed by David Yates and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the fifth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, and is written by Michael Goldenberg and produced by David Heyman and David Barron. The story followsHarry Potter, a teen wizard in his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as the Ministry of Magic refuses to believe the return of the Dark Lord Voldemort, and so appoints bureaucrat Dolores Umbridgeas a teacher at the magical school. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint andEmma Watson as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The supporting cast featuresRalph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton, Gary Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter.
Live-action filming took place in England and Scotland for exterior locations and Leavesden Film Studios inWatford for interior locations from February to November 2006, with a one-month break in June. Post-production on the film continued for several months afterwards to add in visual effects. The film's budget was reportedly between £75 and 100 million ($150–200 million).[2][3] Warner Bros., the distributor of the film, released it in the ...
Cast:
Helena Bonham Carter,
Emma Thompson,
Richard Griffiths,
Ralph Fiennes,
Jason Isaacs,
Maggie Smith,
Michael Gambon,
Fiona Shaw,
George Harris,
Gary Oldman,
Alan Rickman,
Robbie Coltrane,
Robert Hardy,
Jim McManus,
David Thewlis,
Sian Thomas,
David Bradley,
Timothy Spall,
Brendan Gleeson,
Daniel Radcliffe,
Emma Watson,
Rupert Grint,
Warwick Davis,
Julie Walters,
Tom Felton,
Harry Melling,
Matthew Lewis,
Bonnie Wright,
Richard Leaf,
Evanna Lynch,
Kathryn Hunter,
Natalia Tena,
Jason Boyd,
Imelda Staunton,
Helen McCrory,
Richard Macklin,
Jessica Stevenson,
Miles Jupp,
Nick Shrim,
Katie Leung,
Adrian Rawlins,
Mark Williams,
Geraldine Somerville,
Robert Pattinson,
Peter Cartwright,
Bridgette Millar,
Timothy Bateson,
James Phelps,
Oliver Phelps,
Jamie Wolpert,
Nicholas Blane,
Daisy Haggard,
Chris Rankin,
Jamie Waylett,
Joshua Herdman,
Ryan Nelson,
Devon Murray,
William Melling,
Apple Brook,
Alfred Enoch,
Afshan Azad,
Shefali Chowdhury,
Sam Beazley,
John Atterbury,
Arben Bajraktaraj,
Tony Maudsley,
Alec Hopkins,
Robert Jarvis,
James Walters,
Charles Hughes,
James Utechin,
Jason Piper,
Michael Wildman,
Richard Cubison,
Peter Best,
Tav MacDougall,
Richard Trinder
Director:
David Yates
Genre:
Family
Release Date:
2007, July 11, 2007
MPAA Rating:
PG-13
Screen Writer:
J.K. Rowling,
Michael Goldenberg
DVD Release Date:
December 11, 2007
Runtime:
2hrs 19min
Studio:
Warner Home Video
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