Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix Film Review

As I drove, alone, to the theater this morning the weather was gloomy. It was chilly, overcast, and rain had begun to drizzle. It seemed fitting as the tone of this film was definitely darker than any of its predecessors. As well it should be. When you first begin the journey that is the story of Harry Potter and its many characters it all seems very tame, doesn’t it? It’s almost as if you got your somewhat happy ending at the beginning. “A dark wizard tries to kill a little boy, but he survives? That doesn’t sound so bad.”

As the stories progressed we find that being “The Boy Who Lived” kinda blows. It’s lonely as he’s an orphan and the few true friends he has managed to make can never fully understand the burden placed upon him. It’s dangerous as he’s in constant fear of what Voldemort, a.k.a The Dark Lord, a.k.a He Who Must Not Be Named, a.k.a. that guy from Strange Days (Ralph Fiennes), might be planning, and he must go through all of this while dealing with the normal rises and lows of being a teenaged boy.

As each volume unfolded we got reminded time and time again what a hard existence it is to be Harry Potter. The cold wind and big fat rain drops put me in the right frame of mind as the film began.

Readers of the books know that The Order opens with Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) having spent a summer alone with the mean spirited Dursleys. He’s been brooding because he’s not had one word from the wizarding world as to what is going on now that they all know Lord Voldemort has returned having tricked Harry into participating in his rebirth, and then killing Cedric Diggory, at the end of Goblet of Fire.
Things quickly pick up as Dementors attack Harry and his cousin, Dudley (Harry Melling), in a park in Little Whinging. This was one of the scenes I had been looking forward to seeing the most as I remember the shock and excitement of reading about the events in the book. Such a blatant attack early on really set up the rest of OOTP well. You know right away that, yet again, the danger has been taken to a whole new level.

Dementors

As The Order of the Phoenix, a group of good wizards and witches led by Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) and formed to fight Lord Voldemort the first time he rose to power, come to pick Harry up and take him to their headquarters I was pleased that things were moving along so quickly and I was excited to finally see what Kingsley Shacklebot (and auror at the Ministry of Magic working in secret with The Order) and Nymphadora Tonks looked like. They both did not disappoint but I was most pleased with Tonks (Natalia Tena). She was everything I imagined her to be – spunky, quirky, pretty, clumsy, and above all kick ass…but more on that later.
Things don’t get better for young Potter, looking all growed up I must say, as he finds out from The Order, that also includes his fugitive godfather Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), the Weasley parents, and his father’s arch rival and his own Potions master Severus Snape (played with ghoulish glee by Alan Rickman), that the Ministry of Magic has made it their business to try and discredit Harry and his claims that Lord Voldemort has indeed returned.

The wizardry news is filled with stories professing that Harry is a liar and out for attention. Also fearing that Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of the wizardry school Hogwarts, is backing Potter’s claims in an effort to take his job as Head of the Ministry, Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy) places his under secretary, Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), at Hogwarts in an effort to try and control what goes on there.

Much of the movie is spent at Hogwarts, as usual, as Harry and his friends led by Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) deal with the over growing presence of Umbridge at their school (educational decrees up the wazoo!), taking their Ordinary Wizarding Level exams (O.W.L.s), and attending secret Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons taught by Harry. Hey, if the Ministry is too stubborn to acknowledge Voldemort’s return and protect them, then they need to protect themselves, don’t they? You bet your ass they do.

Dumbledore's Army

All of this leads to a climax at the Ministry of Magic so good I wanted to stand up and cheer. But I was alone. And I’m like 6 feet tall. And grown. So, overall, I’m thinking that woulda been weird.

So now, as is my way, I’m going to tell you what was good before I get to the bad…

- What J.K. Rowlings does expertly, and so far the many directors of each film has managed to capture as well, is display Harry’s constant wonder and joy at his new, true, world. He finds out he’s a wizard much later in life than most children in his world. And now, even five years later, he still displays amazement at experiencing new aspects of the wizarding world. For instance, in Goblet of Fire when he attended the Quidditch World Cup and used a portkey for the first time and now in Order as he arrives at the Ministry of Magic to answer charges of unauthorized use of magic in front of a Muggle (He was cleared. He only used the Patronus charm to defeat the Dementors and save his and Dudley’s lives. Besides, the whole hearing was nothing more than an excuse to further discredit Harry and, by extension, Dumbledore.) Showing Harry watch people arrive to work by Floo Powder and the self flying paper airplanes that serve as inter-office memos is a nice touch that reminds the viewer that he’s just as new to some of this as we are.

- Sirius Black – though he’s never been a huge part of any of the books he’s in (even the one that bears his name – The Prisoner of Azkaban cause let’s face it, he’s not in many actual scenes of the books), he’s still such a presence in the Harry Potter world. He’s the only real family Harry has left and watching the scenes between them knowing the tragic outcome was heartbreaking. I did notice one thing though. He is definitely a rock star. I mean. Sirius Black is like the freakin’ Mick Jagger of the wizarding world. Don’t believe me? Just pay close attention to the scene with him and Harry at the train station.

Gary Oldman as Sirius Black

- Watching members of The Order line up outside 4 Privet Drive and mount their brooms.

- Luna Lovegood! I loved Luna in all loony glory. She spoke as if she were in a haze, but delivered some of the best moments, and advice, of the movie. I totally want Harry to end up with Luna now. Hopefully, J.K. makes that happen in the final book.
- Dolores Umbridge. She was like a walking, talking, bottle of Pepto Bismol. And just as nasty.

Devil in the pink dress

- Minimal Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane)…and I didn’t mind.

- Patti said in her review that she wanted to “make sweet, sweet, love to” the final battle that took place at the Ministry. Sign me up for the orgy, please. The film found an impressive way to visualize that battle. The Death Eaters dissolved into black smoke and whipped around our hero and his friends, but when The Order showed up (and wow, what an entrance) they fought back in streaks of white. It made the battle much more magical because let’s face it, two people pointing sticks at each other and shouting Latin can get kinda…lame.

- Though I appreciate Kingsley getting a line, I have a feeling I would have rather seen the painting of Phineas Nigellus deliver the original line, “You know, Minister, I disagree with Dumbledore on many counts…but you cannot deny he’s got style…”, after Dumbledore made his exit from Hogwarts…a scene I was dying to see that did not disappoint.

Here’s what was not so good…

- Several scenes ended weirdly. Like the director didn’t know quite when to cut them so instead we get an uncomfortable fade-out or a shot pulled back straight out of the room and into the skies above Hogwarts.

- As the books got longer it was inevitable that more would have to be cut from the movies. As much as someone like me wouldn’t mind a four hour epic, as long as it was done right, including each aspect of a book that you’ve come to love for its many details, most of America wouldn’t get down with it. And I understand that. And I deal with it. But that doesn’t stop me from missing little details like how much work the teenagers put into helping Mrs. Weasley rid the headquarters of doxies and dead puffskeins, the explanation of how Tonks is related to Sirius, the fact that Professor Trelawney is the one who spoke the prophecy regarding Harry and Voldemort, and everyone running into Neville Longbottom’s parents at the St. Mungos when they go to visit Mr. Weasley.

- There were not enough scenes of the occlumency lessons between Snape and Harry. Considering that their failure to successfully complete the lessons due to their mutual hatred is what led to Voldemort being able to lure Harry and his friends to the Department of Mysteries, I thought there could have been at least one or two more scenes to show the breakdown. Especially knowing what Snape does in The Half Blood Prince, one wonders if this was part of his plan.

- Grawp. I didn’t care for him in the book and he seemed pointless in the movie, but I understand why he had to be introduced. Much like Kreacher, who is rumored to play a big role in Deathly Hallows, had to be at least introduced in this movie.

Hey, wasn't he in The Goonies?

- Dolores’ comeuppance, being carried away by the Centaurs, always struck me as disturbing. Seeing it didn’t help. Though I did miss the scene with Ron later torturing a catatonic Umbridge with the sounds of hoof beats.
Finally, I thought there wasn’t enough mourning shown by Harry after Sirius’ death. The ending of the movie, didn’t seem to match up with the ending of the book tone-wise, I mean the final chapter was titled, “The Second War Begins,” for God’s sake! I wanted more feelings of impending doom. Some serious stuff went down in this installment and it whispered of what’s to come. Why was everyone so damn optimistic? They shouldn’t be.

As I watched the final scenes of the movie the words of the prophecy stuck with me. “One must die at the hands of the other as one cannot live as long as the other survives.” And though I’m anxiously awaiting the final book (just one more week!) and hoping for good things, I found myself hoping that Voldemort kills Harry.

Why? Because this movie did such a great job of reminding me of the burden that comes with being Harry Potter, and how though they (he and Voldemort) are eerily alike, Harry is much different (and better) because of who he is at heart and the friends that he has. I somehow feel as if I’d rather he dies in Deathly Hallows fighting the good fight than having the added burden of being a murderer.

The rebellion begins indeed