Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Review By Josh

Potter's fifth cinematic outing doesn't manage to top the superior Goblet of Fire, but it does manage, surprisingly, to trim the fat from a 800+ page novel and turn it into a briskly paced and entertaining film. A sizeable chunk of Rowling's story has been omitted, but the writer manages to make a competent film while also remaining faithful to the source material. Order sees the return of many beloved characters (though many appear only briefly), and even tosses in some new ones, most notably Imelda Staunton, who is brilliant as the nazi-headmistress Dolores Umbridge. The acting is the strongest here of any of the films; Radcliffe especially impressed me, and of course the likes of Jason Isaacs, Michael Gambon, Ralph Feinnes, Gary Oldman, Helena Bonham-Carter, Maggie Smith, and the like all give the film a very distinguished feel. New director David Yates (who will also helm the sixth film) has a very good talent for getting to the real human tragedy and emotion of the story (this is clear very early on, when the first scene shows orphan Harry by himself in a park where parents play with their children). Yates manages both to respect his characters by sticking to his core themes (Harry's loneliness, his alienation, and his angst at being so similar to Voldemort), and also showcase dazzling displays of action-adventure (especially during the Ministry of Magic final showdown during the film's climax). At 2 1/4 hours, Order of the Phoenix is the shortest of the films, so I wouldn't mind an extended DVD, but as it stands, I really enjoyed this film version of what is my least favorite novel of the series.