The Harry Potter series has grown on me. I remember attending the first movie wondering what the big deal was. I half dismissed it, but was there opening night for the sequel. I’ve since read all the books (or rather, listened to them on audiobook/ipod, which I highly recommend), I own all the DVDs, and I even wear a Prisoner of Azkaban t-shirt on occasion. I’m not one of those obsessed Harry Potter fanatics, but I’m also not what could be considered an occasional or recreational fan. I’ve seen the trailer for Order of the Phoenix more times than you can count on your two hands. But enough about me. The point is that I enter the Harry Potter films with high expectations.
And the Potter film series has improved since Chris Columbus first two films. Alfanso Curon’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is arguably the best in the series, followed shortly by Mike Newell’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Two great films by two great directors. So it worried me greatly that the next film was handed over to David Yates, a guy whose imdb resume included a bunch of British television shows and miniseries, and not much else. But fear not my friends, Yates knocks this one home. I was really happy to see Yates play off of the extended sweeping camera shots which Curon introduced in Azkaban. The special effects have also vastly improved over the course of the series.
Order picks up where we left off. Having fended of Voldemort in the climax of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Harry is about to start his fifth year at Hogwarts. But Potter is not greeted with a heroes welcome. The magical administration have turned the wizard media against Harry and Dumbledor, replacing the practical teachings with theory, and putting Hogwarts under the authority of Minestry of Magic member Dolores Umbridge. A secret order must be formed in case he who must not be named were to attack.
It’s hard to judge the Potter films based purely on the self contained movie. I’ve read all the books, and thus have a better understanding of the world and story than can be presented on screen. My biggest problems with this film and the last is the condensed story. It’s hard for me to watch or critique the film and not compare it to the book. Order was 896 pages long, yet the film is barely over two hours in length. This means that a lot of great stories and subplots don’t make the cut. Much of the Quidditch story has been cut, which includes Ron Weasley being appointed a Gryffindor prefect. But I think what irritates me the most is that in the book you really feel for Harry as the whole school and wizarding world turns against him. In the movie it is done in such a short time. Heck, they need to create Dumbledore’s army, so there isn’t much time for everyone to hate Harry. I also felt that the storyline between Harry and Cho was rushed in the film as compared with the book.
Condensing a 900 page story into two hours can also become exhausting. Gone are the fun scenes with character interaction. Order is almost non-stop story. That’s not a bad thing, but we just love the characters so much. I wish we had more time to just hang out with them. And of course there are moments that I wonder if casual Potter movie fans will understand not having read the books, but I guess that has to be expected.
One of the complaints that some had with the book when it was first released was that it was too dark and serious. That has definitely translated onto the big screen. Harry and the other kids have grown up. The wizard government has taken control of the media and schools. This is not the fun magical world from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The book was released in the summer of 2003, when the problems with the Bush administration were just starting to heat up. The parallels between Bush and the fearful Ministry of Magic are endless.
The best addition to the cast has to be Evanna Lynch, who beat over 15,000 girls for the role of the wonderfully weird Luna Lovegood. Imelda Staunton made me want to scream. She did such a great job as Dolores Umbridge. Everyone has encountered that gleefully smug authority figure at some point in their lives. And the regular cast transformed into their characters so long ago that I wouldn’t be able to distinguish between the real actors and the characters.
Phoenix is a visually stunning, multi-layered fantasy adventure that can’t be missed. In a summer of disappointments, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix leaves you happy but wanting more. Sure it has some flaws, but there is much to love. The best two hour version of Order of the Phoenix wouldn’t look much better than this version.
/Film Rating: 8 out of 10
July 11th, 2007 at 11:35 am
Great review Peter.I have’nt seen the film but the book is my favorite of the series.GOF being my favorite movie.I have two questions if you can answer them.Is it as good as POA and GOF or is it better?And is it better than Spider-Man 3 and Transformers?
July 11th, 2007 at 11:46 am
Ugh, this is so hard to call. I completely disagree about POA, i thought that was the worst because they pulled out so much meat and shoved in alot of fluff that made the characters unbelievable or dense..
Goblet of Fire felt way too rushed and again, you can’t honestly feel for the characters when they don’t back up their behavior with tangible emotional moments (of course, the book doesnt struggle there, just the films).
The writers for all the films (save 1 and 2) have turned our beloved characters into paper-thin cutouts that only have depth because of our traditional associations with friendship and peril, so much of the relationships between characters are “Assumed” when in the books they are hardwired and soldered in.
Will Phoenix fall to the same fate? Will most viewers be abandoned because they didnt read the books? we shall see tonight… can’t wait.
:)
July 11th, 2007 at 11:51 am
Azkaban is my favorite. I’d say this is may-be on par with Goblet of Fire, although Goblet might be a more enjoyable film. Order is very dark. There are not as many fun or magical moments in this film, as would/should be expected.
July 11th, 2007 at 11:57 am
i saw a midnight screening last night, and i was very disappointed. i completely agree that the movie is very rushed. also, the filming techniques bothered me. It seemed like half the movie was just one long montage. The newspaper transitions (you’ll know what i mean when you see it) were very annoying, and were one of the main methods of telling the story in the movie.
July 11th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
The book barely had any bright moments.Thanks for responding Peter.
July 11th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
Dylan - Exactly.
The Harry Potter series has made me decide that I’ll never read a book which is going to be made into a movie before the movie. I usually end up disapointed that some of my favorite moments didn’t make it into the movie. I have since read some books (non Potter) after I’ve seen the film version, and have found that order to be more enjoyable because it’s like watching the extended cut of your favorite movie.
July 11th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
I have one more question,and then I’ll stop bothering you.LOL.Alright is this film better than Spider-Man 3 and Transformers?I have’nt seen Transformers but I saw Spider-Man 3 and loved it.Seriously all them people saying it was bad need to rewatch it.Alright so there’s my question,thanks for responding.
July 11th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
Cant wait for the Directors Cut DvD.
July 11th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Total Spoiler:
I’m on the fence on this. I have been an avid fan and supporter of the movie series since Sorcerers Stone came out. And didn’t even read the books until after Prisoner of Azkaban. Now obviously all character development seemed to have been done in SS and Chamber of Secrets and thats cool, problem is though, those side characters that pop in every now and again throughout Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix really need some extra background or better thought out scenes. I’ve read the books and yes you can argue anyone who has read the books knows all the background, but from the average movie goers stand point I want each character that has more screen time than a Star Trek Ensign to at least get 5-10 minutes of good on screen background/information somewhere in the series of movies or I just can’t connect to them at all.
Beyond that, I feel violated by Warner Bros. Goblet of Fire could have easily been an extra 30 minutes longer and it still would have kicked ass and everyone would have still paid to watch. When WB then goes and cuts Order of the Phoenix shorter than the previous movie, almost, with way more story to tell it offends me. Every singly movie goer would gladly sit through three hours of this film cause frankly WB has shown they aren’t going to destroy the core of Harry Potter on screen, they just seem to think that the public wants the movie very short. I wonder who does their marketing or who their PR firm is cause they SUCK.
I had read a post on /film this last week about Creecher making the cut because Rowling wanted him in, but um…..WHY WAS HE IN THEIR. They didn’t explain him, they didn’t use him like he’s supposed to be story line wise, so why even have him there? If you’re going to use a character from the book, then use him, don’t pull a “venom” on the audience cause frankly, its dumb and not necessary.
Casting was awesome (i.e. Luna and Umbridge) and the sets for every scene rocked, but the movie was too short and every scene I felt that they just went too fast for no reason at all. Goblet of Fire did alright rushing some scenes and going quick through the story, but this movie needed to slow down and go through the basics all over again. But hey they got Fudge to say “He’s back” just in the right way so obviously that makes this movie the shit right?
Good review though, and I agree you can’t gauge this movie as a single entity, but I can gauge it with the right objective mindset and with that in “mind” this movie just didn’t hit home like I thought it would.
P.S. Someone tell WB to just make the next two 3 hours and stop hiding behind some PR rep that says it won’t work. It will work and everyone will still pay to see them. Use Lord of the Rings as an example and not movies that have nothing to do with the genre the story is about.
Out.
July 12th, 2007 at 8:33 am
I’m amazed you actually can call the Prisoner of Azkaban the best one in the series, but I think I’m even more amazed that you could actually say: “the Potter film series has improved since Chris Columbus first two films”.
The general consensus among all the Potter fans I know (self included) is that the first two films are the best….with each subsequent release being a little worse than the last. Now most people agree the books get better as they go on, but the movies….not so much.
I’m really hoping this new one is alot better than the last two….hopefully Mr. Columbus will make a return for the final movie a couple years from now ;)
July 12th, 2007 at 8:36 am
PS: Peter, I completely agree with you on not reading the book before the movie… (but then again, maybe we’re just more movie than book guys?)
July 13th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Saw the film yesterday and I’m pleased to say it’s the best movie I’ve seen in a long time.My all time favorite movie no doubt.For me I would give it 10/10.PS Derick you have officially lost credibility to want Colombus to do the last films.
July 14th, 2007 at 5:21 am
Saw the film last night…read the book which the film tried to distill. I agree that this was a difficult transition. However, asode from this issue, I thought the post production was rather sub-par. Scenes were slapped together with poor edit cuts and made for poor continuity. Could the opening date deadline have affected what should have been more careful attention to bringing the scenes together? Even the credits after the film were strangely simplistic. Otherwise, I enjoyed it.
July 20th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
Come-on, critics, be honest…Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a classic War Movie, plain and simple. What a disappointing story and a terrible message to send to kids. Instead of using his intelligence and magic to overcome problems and threats, Harry starts his own (aka “Dumbledore’sâ€) Army and appoints himself the head drill Sergeant, who later leads his armed group of mercenaries into a classic battle at the end, complete with death, confusion, and destruction. Harry’s mature look is completely military too – short hair, clean-shaven, tight shirts, combat boots – What happened to the nice comfy academic robes? We’ve got students being unfairly held captive and brutally tortured, a secret weapons training camp, and a small army of allied Centaurs abducting combatants behind enemy lines. Looks like the author Ms. Rowling has become entirely caught up in the British-US global strategy of post- 9/11 military domination to deal with conflict, in lieu of research, knowledge, and diplomacy. Seems that the movie’s Writers/Director have been busy adapting every major scene from Platoon and Apocalypse Now for this new “Harry Goes to War†epic. Wake up parents and beware — The battles have just begun!
September 17th, 2007 at 10:18 am
Are you all serious? The movie in the IMAX with the 3d was UTTERLY AMAZING! I agree on the reading the book before seeing the movie will dissapoint you. I hope that they will increase the movie lengh to show more of the movie because it did seem rushed. Remember that if you think you can do a better job…put up or shut up.
September 19th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
Loved the review! I absolutely LOVED Harry Potter, (JKR’s a genius) and i LOVE the movies. But I do think they mess it up a little bit by taking out important stuff and adding other things that don’t matter. and even though the movie was like over 2 hours, it seemed a bit rushed. But I absolutely LOVED the part when Fred and George leave Hogwarts, even though they make Harry/Daniel a bit of a killjoy at the end.