Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

Year: 2007
Director: David Yates
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Gary Oldman, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Evanna Lynch, Jason Isaacs, Robbie Coltrane

Harry Potter is back. Out of all the sequels coming out this year, this has to be in the top three most anticipated ones. And it should be, considering the huge following J.K. Rowling's popular novel about the boy wizard has conjured over the last decade. And now the 5th film has come out. The first one was interesting fun for all, the second one darker and ominous, the third a cute thrill and the fourth an all-out adventure. So what's next?

Let's recap: In the last film, The Goblet Of Fire, Harry barely survives an encounter with his arch-nemesis, Lord Voldermort. During that encounter, his friend Cedric Diggory was killed. Order Of The Phoenix starts not long after that, with Harry facing more verbal abuse from his dastardly cousin Dudley. However they're interrupted by Dementors who appear out of nowhere. Harry is forced to use magic to ward them off, but that act comes to the attention of the Ministry Of Magic, led by the paranoid Cornelius Fudge. Fudge tries to dismiss Harry from Hogwarts, until Professor Dumbledore, the trusty headmaster steps in to defend Harry. The charges are dropped, and Harry goes back to school.

But things are far from good for Harry. His schoolmates shun him and presume him to be a liar, all except his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger of course. Oh, and also the new student, Luna Lovegood. The three of them, and Harry's godfather Sirius Black are all he has on his side as far as Voldermort's return is concerned. If that's not bad enough, the Ministry elects Professor Dolores Umbridge, a self-indulgent fascist dressed in pink all over to be Hogwarts' High Inquisitor, which puts her above Dumbledore. She also is the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, who isn't very helpful in teaching the students. Before long, her rules and regulations, that border on the extreme and ridiculous, puts the students through hell.

That's when Hermione and Ron persuade Harry to teach the students magic in secret, and form a secret group called Dumbledore's Army, to prepare themselves against Voldermort. However, Umbridge is on to them and tries to put an end to their activities. Dumbledore gets removed and as the students rebel against Umbridge, Voldermort's forces make their move.....

As far as characters go, save for Harry, Ron and Hermione, most of them get less screen time as the films get made. You will hardly see Hagrid, Professor McGonagall and Draco Malfoy in this instalment. David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson and Emma Thompson return in this film, but they hardly have enough lines between them. Alan Rickman suffers from the same fate, but he at least gets to make his presence felt somehow. Radcliffe does fine this time around, though he hasn't improved much. Ditto for Watson and Grint, though the trio's ongoing banter still exists. Helena Bonham Carter does well as Voldermort follower Bellatrix Lestrange, but she, like the others, doesn't register too prominently in the film. Gambon and Oldman acquit themselves well as Dumbledore and Sirius, and Fiennes is still menacing as ever playing Voldermort, though you'll have to wait till the end to see him in action. The best performances come from Staunton and Lynch. The former gives Umbridge just the right amount of ickyness for the audience to hate, and the latter's quirky performance as Luna Lovegood is truly charming.

However you'll notice that in this film, the wonder and magic usually associated with Harry Potter is lost. Gone are the truly fun moments, like in Chamber Of Secrets when Ron's mother sends him a screaming telegram, or in The Goblet Of Fire when Mad Eye Moody turns Draco Malfoy into a ferret. You won't see any humorous moments in Order Of The Phoenix. It's as if David Yates decided it's time for the kids to grow up. Perhaps they should, but it comes with a great price. He does however give us some other moments, like the kids flying on Thestrals and the Weasley twins giving Umbridge a well deserved payback. The battle between the Order Of The Phoenix and The Death Eaters was disappointing, but the showdown between Dumbledore & Voldermort was way cool. Now that's something Yates did right.

So to sum it up, I'll say that Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix isn't half bad at all. But I do hope Yates improves himself in the next film, The Half Blood Prince. (4/5)