>>REVIEW
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
STARRING Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
DIRECTED BY David Yates
NOW PLAYING
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How do you take a 750-plus page book about the emotional maturation of a young wizard and turn it into a 140-minute effects-filled movie for kids? You keep it simple. At least that’s what director David Yates decided to do with his first kick at the much beloved Harry Potter series.
With a streamlined script focused only on the main points of J.K. Rowling’s fifth novel, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix fulfils its role as a bridge in the grand design of the Potter saga. Quite simply, it’s the film you have to see in order to watch the next one. On its own, it’s more serious and slower paced, but completely necessary to the journey because it takes Harry to a new personal level that will make the events in the next two films even more intense.
When the film version of The Prisoner of Azkaban was released, it was touted as the darkest of the Potter movies. Yates has focused on the suffering aspects of this story and created a film that is even darker in tone and emotion.
Still haunted by the death of classmate Cedric Diggory, labelled a liar by the Ministry of Magic and facing a confusing and horrific new threat from Lord Voldemort, Harry finds himself feeling lost and alone, struggling to understand what he’s supposed to do next. His encounters with Voldemort are not only chilling but somewhat disturbing, giving the audience a real connection to the terror Harry experiences.
Without a doubt, Order of the Phoenix is Harry’s movie. Every other character is reduced to a supporting player, even Hermione and Ron. The only exception is Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), the newest Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, and a woman determined to make the school experience a living hell. Staunton is simply fantastic as the power hungry, twisted teacher who gleefully revels in the suffering of all those who cross her.
For those looking for the excitement of the impending battle between good and evil, Phoenix provides only a small taste. It’s a sweet taste, though, that is hopefully a glimpse of the bigger thrills yet to come for fans of these wizards and witches. |
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