Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

#106 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix


The students' fifth year at Hogwarts is beginning, and the return of the Dark Lord is looming over Harry's head. Not only does he have Voldemort to worry about, but he also has the Ministry to deal with. They do not believe that he saw "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" return during the final task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, so therefore, they do not believe his story about Cedric's death. Potter is cast off as a liar, and Dumbledore has been roped into it as well for being loyal to Harry. Something out of the ordinary happens to Harry when dementors attack his cousin, Dudley, and him out in the open...in Surrey...not in the wizarding world. Harry uses the patronus charm to get rid of the dementors, and he is expelled from Hogwarts. At his trial, to possibly reverse the ruling of his expulsion, we are introduced to a very wicked woman by the name of Dolores Umbridge. She works for the ministry, and she doesn't believe Harry's story either. She believes that inappropriate things are happening at Hogwarts, so after Harry's expulsion was overturned, she takes it upon herself to be hired in as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts...and soon becomes the "High Inquisitor" and eventually somewhat of a headmistress at the school. The students start to believe Harry, Hermione, and Ron when they tell them that Voldemort has really returned. They form a secret club calling Dumbledore's Army, and Harry begins teaching them how to defend against dark magic. The students are discovered and punished severely. While having to deal with this, Harry has also been seeing into the world of Voldemort. Their minds are linked together, and Voldemort has been attacking members of the Order of the Phoenix (a group of adults loyal to Potter and the destruction of the Dark Lord), trying to get a hold of an important object. Dumbledore is worried about Harry's mind being consumed and manipulated by Voldemort, so he enlists Snape as Harry's teacher in the art of oclumency. Snape teaches Harry how to block and protect his mind from Voldemort's penetrations. While doing this, Harry finds out that Snape was teased by James Potter (Harry's father) and that James wasn't the saint that Harry always thought him to be. He also finds out that a prophecy was made when Harry was a baby that tells of a boy born at the end of the month of July that will be the undoing of the Dark Lord. "Neither can live while the other survives" is how the prophecy ends. This means that either Harry or Voldemort will eventually have to die. While obtaining the prophecy in the Ministry of Magic, we are introduced to another character: Bellatrix Lestrange. Bellatrix is responsible for the tormenting of Neville Longbottom's parents using one of the Unforgivable Curses: Crucio. Neville seeks revenge when he comes face to face with her and the other Deatheaters. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, and Luna are quickly overpowered by the experienced adults. Harry is given an ultimatum: hand over the prophecy or his friends will die. Just then, the members of the Order of the Phoenix arrive - including Harry's godfather, Sirius Black. The Order battles the Deatheaters, and the prophecy is destroyed. During the battle, Sirius Black is killed by his own cousin, Bellatrix. Harry is now left alone with no family at all, so he runs after Bellatrix to avenge his godfather's death. He is led into a room where Voldemort grabs a hold of his mind again. He tortures Harry's thoughts, and it is Dumbledore that arrives and tries to save Harry. However, Harry's love for his family and friends is what ultimately saves his life. He tells Voldemort that he is not afraid of him; that Voldemort will never truly win because he doesn't know the meaning of love, friendship, and family. Just as Voldemort gives up and disappears, the Minister of Magic enters and sees the Dark Lord for himself. He retracts all statements about Harry and Dumbledore being liars, and he even steps down from his position as Minister. This year does not end on a good note because Harry has lost his last remaining family member, but that doesn't dampen his spirits because he realizes his family survives in his friends at Hogwarts.

I absolutely love this film because it has a lot of really interesting stuff happening in it. I love Dumbledore's Army - the idea of them working together, in secret, to learn the skills that Professor Umbridge refuses to teach in her classroom. This is the moment that Harry really steps up and becomes the leader that he is. The way that the lessons are created on screen are the right mixture of serious, whimsical, and funny. When Hermione beats Ron in a spell duel, it's hilarious. I also really enjoy the way the Inquisitive Team was lurking around the halls trying to catch Dumbledore's Army in the act. Led by Filch and Draco Malfoy, it's a riot. Some of my favorite scenes are when Filch is sitting in a chair in front of what he thinks is the entrance to where the students have been hiding. This film is a turning point in the story because Voldemort IS back and everyone finds that out by the end, so many of the characters begin to learn things about themselves. I feel like that was shown very well on screen. The acquisition of David Yates as the director for this film and the final three films was a blessing. That man is a genius when it comes to knowing camera angles, character placement, and lighting. You don't lose a sense of the wondrous aspect of Hogwarts, but you also see the seriousness of the events to come involving the inevitable battle between Harry and Voldemort.

Now, even though this is one of my favorite films in the series, it does have its flaws - namely because it cuts out almost half of the story from the books. I hate when writers do that, and this book is just chopped up into little tiny pieces when transferred to the screenplay. That did not make me happy at all. Things like Luna using the spell "Levicorpus" - that spell is not introduced/taught until the students' sixth year, and it's a non-spoken spell. Or Ginny's use of the spell "Reducto." Although it's badass, it never happens.
I also do not like how obviously CGI Hagrid's brother, Grawp looks. He's ugly and completely fake. I mean I know 99% of the creatures in the wizarding world are fake...heck, the wizarding world itself is fake...but Grawp is awful. I mean, the animators spend so much time on little details everywhere else, why not do the same thing on Grawp? It may also just be the fact that I, in general, don't like the Grawp story or the character. It's pointless. The other thing I didn't care for was when Voldemort is inside Harry's head, and Harry is having the conversation with him about love and friendship - it's a serious moment - and then all of a sudden Voldemort's face pops up like "Ha." It makes me laugh, and it ruins the moment. That shot should've been taken out. (1:11 in the video)

I think the set design and cinematography at the Ministry of Magic: Department of Mysteries is fantastic. It really gives off a sense of eeriness when Harry and his friends step off the elevator and enter a world of blackness and sharp silver tones. I also love that they made the Deatheaters black and the Order of the Phoenix white, so you could tell who was who during the battle. The only thing I would've liked clarified a bit more was the death of Sirius. He fades into the archway, and it's very anti-climactic.

Okay, so let me take one moment to draw your attention to the fact that those Hogwarts boys have officially become super attractive starting in this film...especially my boyfriend, Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley). That is all.

Look. Even Hermione notices.

If I get the book out of my head, and just watch the movie as just the movie, I love it. Even Umbridge being a gigantic witch is entertaining to watch. No joke when I say this...

I give Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 4.5 out of 5 stars - the .5 I give purely because of Ron Weasley's hottness factor.