Harry Potter has gone emo.
Well, he's not listening to Fall Out Boy, applying black eyeliner to himself or dying his locks a certain raven tone. But he has certainly gone dark.
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," based on the fifth book of J.K Rowling's boy wizard, is certainly grown-up and bleak, expressing the deep emotional tear that the Hogwart's hero is knee-deep in.
It is only one step below greatness.
Teenaged Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is still plagued with the image of the reincarnated Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) in the previous adventure. To make matters worse, he's under scrutiny by the Ministry of Magic after using a powerful charm in the presence of non-wizardry folk, a big no-no obviously. Additionaly, the Ministry has come down hard on the "falling standard" at Hogwart's, instating Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) as grand inquisitor.
Umbridge is a smiling, giggling and charismatic bubble of a woman who wears bright clothing and enjoys the company of many meowing kittens. Yet, on the inside, she is devious, manipulative and conniving.
Imagine Hitler in a fuzzy, pink sweater.
Eventually, Umbridge overtakes Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) and becomes headmistress, instituting proclamation after proclamation that adorn a wall the height of a mid-sized giant, banning one thing after it appears on campus.
One such measure forbids the education of spells in defense of dark arts. Naturally, Harry and his friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), begin a club to teach themselves to defend against the growing evil that approaches them, most notably Harry and his odd connection he who must not be named.
Not only is Harry distraught over the disturbing thoughts, his attraction to classmate Cho
Chang culminates in the much talked about kiss-Harry's first.
Director David Yates does craft a visually appealing, deep and emotional tale that is on par with the previous films. However, following the footsteps of the great "Goblet of Fire" and "The Prisoner of Azkaban"-the latter being the best of the series so far-was no easy task.
Too much had to be crammed into this film-plot points and characters-that at first glance, it can be viewed as a big, jumbled mess. Still, there is a nice balance in the relatively slim-for-the-series 138 minute running time. But some of the glee and excitement is missing.
Is it entertaining? Absolutely. But that certain spark to generate tons of thrills is just not there. And one would not be able to tell what that one thing is, though there is plenty to enjoy.
Each Potter film added a great, interesting, entertaining and terrific new character that continued to generate life and entertainment in the series. In "Chamber of Secrets," the second in the series, audiences were charmed by the suave Gilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth Branagh). For "Prisoner," Gary Oldman's Sirius Black gave the series its first taste of deep, dark emotion. Brenden Gleeson, as Mad Eye Moody in "Goblet" kept the series at high for the excitement he injected into the last film.
Staunton's addition continues the great tradition that Rowling had going in the books and was correctly translated to Harry's big screen adventures. Whether she is smiling in the face of some misbegotten Hogwart's student or glaring down after giving Harry a hard slap across the face, Staunton is the next great character in the series.
The other characters-Sirius, Ron, Hermione, etc.-are really pushed aside to put Harry and his internal torment in the spotlight. He is the title character, and Radcliffe continues to mature his acting ability parallel with the character's. And his first kiss? While it comes and goes quickly, it does feel awkward to the audience. But who's first kiss isn't?
It is truly sad that many of the popular and well-liked characters are not able to show their stuff, but "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" still shows the wizard-in-training has magic up his shelve.
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