HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHEONIX

Plot- Harry Potter has more than puberty to deal with. He is having strange visions of Voldemort, dealing with ministry persecution, teen romance and a new evil defense of the dark arts teacher.

Review-
The first three Harry Potter films were enjoyable, but were also very similar in plot/script structure making them quite predictable. The fourth film, “The Goblet of Fire” was a fresh addition to the series, and while flawed, was easily the best film at this point. It was actually enough to get me to read the books. Sadly, the most original entry of the series was followed up by the biggest mess of the series.
The book was actually pretty good. It didn’t really try to be a mystery, and managed to kept my interest. Books can handle a multitude of characters and multiple subplots. Movies simply do not have the time. So instead of a linear plot like the previous films, it simply has multiple subplots replacing the (lack of) plot.
This never translates well into movies. It just comes across as a mess. Every subplot is underdeveloped. Harry’s relationship with Cho Chang? I got nothing from it. It was just there. The conclusion of the relationship didn’t make a lot of sense. The book made a lot more sense in the resolution of this romance, but with the movie it just felt dropped without good reason. Harry is also having strange visions of Voldemort, due to an unusual bond between them. It’s important, but also felt like filler here. The weakest subplot was Harry’s relationship with Serius. It is supposed to be important but just felt slightly artificial and rushed. I felt nothing for it, in contrast to the books. The other subplots just left average impressions on me. They did do a good job at making Umbridge evil though. I will give them that. Most of the characters aren’t given enough screen time either. Snape hasn’t been important since the first film, Hagrid just has an extended cameo, and Mad Eye Moody shows up for two minutes or so before disappearing. None of the new characters(minus Umbridge) made enough of an impression.
Perhaps one of the worst aspects of the film though is that it minimizes the best sequences in the book. The all out wizard battle near the end? Rushed and barely shown. A certain characters dramatic death? Emotionless. The visions of Harry Potter? Not as terrifying. The training sequences were sort of boring and certain sequences just sort of skip through without buildup.
The director(David Yates) does alright. It’s basically the same style used in previous films, even though this is his first Harry Potter debut. He does fine, except he doesn’t really offer anything we haven’t seen before. The special effects are solid when they happen, although Gaup looks too CGI.
The movie does have its entertainment value. The special effects are good and the final battle is great. I also have to give credit to the actors. Daniel Radcliffe(Harry) has improved a lot since the first film and expressed his frustrations well. Emma Watson(Hermoine) is getting prettier and prettier and her acting is very good as well. Perfect casting. Rupert Grint(Ron) does fine, although he doesn’t really have anything to do. Ralph Fiennes(Voldemort) is still both creepy and classy as the antagonist. Gary Oldman(Sirius) does fine with what little he has to do. Imelda Staunton(Dolores Umbridge) is perfect as the evil teacher. Her sweet demeanor contrasts with her actions and it makes her even more effective. The rest of the returning cast all do fine, in their mostly thinly written roles.

Overall, the movie felt bland and tired compared to all the previous entries. It just lacked plot, anything spectacular, and added nothing new worth mentioning. Harry Potter fans in general will enjoy the film but I personally consider this to be the worst entry.

1.5/4 stars