Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix — The Empire, Um... Ministry Strikes Back
Written: Sep 22 '07 (Updated Sep 22 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great acting; wonderful special effects
Cons: A lot of underused characters; felt unfulfilling
The Bottom Line: Even though alterations have been made, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is still enjoyable, though it does feel a bit unfinished.
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| elvisdo's Full Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix |
I’ve finally figured it out. The Harry Potter movies are meant for kids. All this time I thought it was made for only me and me alone. To my surprise, this was not the case at all when I managed to catch a viewing of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth installment that chronicles the adventures of that young, spectacled wizard. Given that the book of the same name, penned by author J.K. Rowling, is 870-pages long, how would it translate into movie format? It doesn’t, at least not in its entirety, nor is it supposed to in the first place. Director David Yates definitely had his work cut out for him, as he had to choose what to show and what to cut out. Not an easy task at all. Maybe having a wand, perhaps made of holly with phoenix feather core, can help make something magical.
Mrs. Weasley: “No! That's enough! He's just a boy, you say much more and you might as well induct him into the Order straight away.”
Harry Potter: “Good! I want to join! If Voldemort's raising an army then I want to fight!”
The reborn Voldemort means dark times lie ahead for both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds. However, the Ministry of Magic seems to turn a blind eye to the real problem at hand. Led by Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, Voldemort is left unchecked. Instead, the Ministry puts forth all its energies into discrediting Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.
Harry’s fifth year at Hogwarts is really put to the test, especially when Dolores Umbridge, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is appointed, personally handpicked by Cornelius Fudge to keep an eye on the school, particularly Dumbledore and Potter. It doesn’t get any better when Umbridge refuses to teach practical instruction in defensive spells believing that constant memorization of the textbook is more than sufficient to passing the ever crucial O.W.L. exams. If Umbridge won’t teach them, then someone else will have to step up to the plate and do so.
But there are many dangers within and outside of Hogwarts; no place is safe anymore. It gets worse when Harry is having very strange yet frightening visions, things that make no sense to him but have a deep connection to Voldemort (sorry, LORD Voldemort) Will Dumbledore’s Order of the Phoenix be able to help and protect Harry from the attacks coming at him from all sides? Whoever said school wasn’t interesting and fun definitely never attended Hogwarts.
Harry Potter: “This connection between me and Voldemort, what if the reason for it is that I'm becoming more like him. I just feel so angry, all the time. And what if after everything I've been through, something's gone wrong inside me. What if I'm becoming bad?”
Sirius Black: “I want you to listen to me very carefully Harry. You're not a bad person. You're a very good person, who bad things have happened to. You understand? Besides, the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. We have all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the power we choose to act on. That's who we really are.”
Harry Potter’s journey through the magical world has not been an easy one at all. Then again, considering how he was raised by the Dursleys, his life has never been easy… period! Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson return as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in this fifth chapter to the Harry Potter saga. Director David Yates now has the task to propel these characters forward in this “coming-of-age” tale.
From the onset of the film, it was evident of the serious tone that was projected within the first five minute, as Yates clearly states that this isn’t whimsical or lighthearted as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Strangely enough, first and foremost, this movie is still geared towards children and teenagers., so it isn’t surprising that Yates focuses on issues of adolescent emotions, confusion, stubbornness and friendship. With that as the main thrust, a lot of things are condensed, consolidated or even eliminated from this movie. Book adaptations are never easy to translate into film without sacrificing some necessary elements, and this is coming from a guy who gets upset with comic book movie translations gone awry. But I also understand that everything cannot be added.
J.K. Rowling’s novel of the same name is a long read with many subplots and characters swimming around. And therein lies the problem to this movie. It was good to focus on the teenagers but that meant a huge sacrifice to the other characters, most notably Professor McGonagall, Hagrid, and Severus Snape. It felt like they just had walk-on roles with really nothing to do. Still, Alan Rickman, with the limited screen time that he had, really had stage presence in all his scenes.
The addition of Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange) and Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood) brought something new and fresh to the film. Staunton was brilliant in her role and Lynch was mesmerizing in her nonchalant portrayal, though Bonham Carter was underutilized.
It was good to see Neville Longbottom shine more in this film. Small adjustments from the book were made to give this character more presence. But I was glad to see Voldemort in action. Ralph Fiennes was a great choice to play the Dark Lord from the last movie and his evil presence is greatly felt in this one.
What was disappointing was the lack of airtime for the Order of the Phoenix, given that the title revolves around this group. I can understand the need to give the younger actors the spotlight but it also took away the importance of the Order’s role in the whole movie. The consolation was the parallelism between the rebellious “D.A.” and the Order; the training sessions of the “D.A.” was a delight. Some plots were consolidated to let the story flow more organically and smoothly, and I really didn’t have a problem with it, if it makes sense for the viewers and translates better for the screen.
The special effects were astounding, from the broomstick rides through London to the battle at the Department of Mysteries. But despite the wonderful eye-candy, I felt there was a certain “magic and charm” missing throughout the entire film. I understand that the movies get progressively darker, and it’s wonderful to see these characters grow up before our eyes. I guess there’s a sense of loss innocence that makes me feel sad. And that usually happens with a coming of age revelation. These actors aren’t exactly kids anymore and part of me wants them to stay that way.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the darkest film to date of the series and it scares me to see how much darker it can progress. But even with all the trimming of the unnecessary fat, with all the consolidated plotlines and additional cast members, I still felt unfulfilled after watching the film. I guess it’s from the lack of performances I expected to see and never saw at all.
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**This is also part of CopeSullivan's 50 Reviews By Halloween Write-Off. This is 19 out of 50.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
elvisdo
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Member: Charles "The Grim One"
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Thank you to everybody who participated in both my write-offs. Until the next one!
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