Post by slapshot63 on Jul 13, 2007 20:30:24 GMT -5
“Harry Potter...You will lose...everything”
Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix is the fifth movie (and book) in this ongoing series and it marks the first time that I have not read the book in advance of seeing the movie (I’ve been on this one for four years because I haven’t had time to finish it. Don’t worry, I’ve halfway through and expect to be done with this and Book 6 by the time the new one comes out). Even though I had not finished the book, I knew that this entry marked a decidedly darker time for not only the main characters, but also every single being in the world. The book is also the longest (870 pages) of the series while the movie is the shortest thus far. How this was going to work out was going to be mighty interesting.
I suppose that I will cut right to the chase with my review because I’m sure that you’ve all heard your fair share of negativity towards this movie and are wondering whether or no its any good. In my opinion, it is the strongest movie in the series thus far. That is not to say that it is the most faithful to the book, because I know for a fact that some things from the novel were heavily glossed over and some scenes were even greatly changed. Quite a bit of detail was lost in the movie, how can you really expect a two-hour movie to capture what takes Rowling hundreds of pages to explain? As a movie though, this one succeeds in every imaginable way. I believe that this can greatly be attributed to Director David Yates.
David Yates can take his rightful place in the winner's circle. He has grappled the tone of one of the darker Harry Potter stories in Order of the Phoenix, and done so with a richly swirling gruffness that ferociously mirrors the novel's breadth. Yates is also directing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -- for a very good reason. He is the best of the directors. No director has been capable of getting the performances from his actors that Yates did: not Chris Columbus, not Alfonso Cuarón, and not Mike Newell. Yates is the conductor of a fantastic symphony, and fortunately that song shall continue. This is an adult film, no arguing there. Gone are the invisible safety nets that were in each of the other movies. Here, characters can, and do, die. Nobody is safe, not even the characters you KNOW are going to make it. You feel peril for each character as they fight for their lives. The action is top notch too, what little there is of it though.
In the Cinematography department, this film soars. The finale is a visually arresting feast for the senses. It starts in a dark room in the Ministry of Magic that is dimly lit by a blue hue Voldemort’s cohorts are after something that the students possess and it’s a fierce, dramatic and suspenseful battle to be sure. It all culminates in the biggest battle we’ve seen just yet (though it’ll undoubtedly not be the last), but I’ll touch a bit more on that later. Every scene is full of energy and just works. The scenes where the group is flying over London are exhilarating and fun. The emotion-filled finale is perfectly captured because the focus is on Harry’s struggles and his pain and torment is detailed wonderfully. Overall, it’s just a very well shot film.
Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson as our heroic triad have all developed their acting chops admirably over the years, standing quite strong against their prominent elders. Though Hermoine and Ron amongst other students and faculty members stand aside and to the back of Harry a bit more than in the other films, that's both fairly reflective of the material and appropriate for the brooding, separated troubles Harry endures. Matched with the pleasantly gruff performance from Gary Oldman as Sirius Black and, to almost show-stopping levels, the grating presence of Imelda Staunton's Umbridge, these key characters from the Harry Potter universe conjure up a strikingly natural and affecting momentum. Most impressive is probably Daniel Radcliffe though. He brings new depth to the character and does a damn great job. A significant part of this film's climax deals entirely with Harry's internal struggles, and Radcliffe pulls it off with great maturity. It is in this climax that Radcliffe truly blows us away. Ralph Fiennes is wonderful once again as Lord Voldemort. He captures the evil of the villain so perfectly that you cannot help but not like him, and yet at the same time enjoy it whenever he's on screen. You don't feel safe around him, just like it should be. You always have a sense of danger when he's around and it makes for some great moments in the film.
The music is pretty good in the movie, but is nothing memorable. It works when it is supposed to and you can’t really ask for more than that. It’s dark, brooding and hits the nail on the head nearly every single time. One of the things that did not work too well were the FX. This series hasn’t ever been one to have mind-blowing special effects, and sadly, this movie carries on that “tradition”. The Dementors right in the beginning look phenomenal. They’re simple and in the darkness, but they are eerie and are pulled off very well. A few minutes into the movie we see a talking envelope and that looks quite fake. It isn’t convincing at all. Grawp, Hagrid’s half-brother doesn’t fare much better. He looks good, but still has a fake sheen to him that completely kills the character. The magical spell effects come off as great though. Each one looks really great. The most impressive thing with the effects, and not just saying they’re impressive because of the lackluster quality throughout the movie, is the finale. Wow. Fucking wow is all I have to say. To say it is impressive is an understatement. I truly wish there was an IMAX theater around here because to see this in 3D would have been mind-blowing. There is so much emotion and straight up ass-kickery that you can’t help but smile. One last thing that didn’t work for me though was the handling of one character’s death. It was quite an important character and he dies and vanished all in a span of five short seconds. It was still sad and heart wrenching, but I would’ve preferred a better way. That said, this movie really had no other faults I could find.
As I mentioned above, this movie excises much from the book, similar in the way that Goblet of Fire did. So why does this movie, which axes more than GoF did, fare better? Editing, plain and simple. In the previous movie, it seemed as if they filmed major scenes and then put them together in the editing room. Scenes ended before they could really get going and the pacing was off. You were never really able to get into anything because of the brisk pace at which the movie flowed. Don’t get me wrong, I greatly enjoyed the movie but I can only think of how much better it could’ve been. But with OoTP, there is a nice, solid pace and everything flows very well. You could tell that this time they weren’t trying to do a page-by-page recreation of the book, but instead they went for what this was, an adaptation. They took the main ideas and plot points and put them all together in a cohesive and satisfying package that stays true to the book, but tells the story in its own way. I mean really, would anyone want a page-by-page, line-by-line recreation of the book? Of course not, that would take away the fun of reading the books.
All in all, Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix was a terrific movie. It changed a lot from the book, but that’s to be expected. Nearly everything was flawless and the movie was nigh perfect in its execution. I honestly cannot wait for Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, mostly because David Yates is behind that one too. We can only hope he directs Deathly Hallows as well. This installment is the first one that really seems to tell a meaningful story in this universe. It tells something and the characters do something. It doesn’t feel like a series of random encounters there for entertainment. There is a real sense of dread, fear and genuine danger now. The first two movies (and books) in particular felt like misadventures in the life of Harry Potter. The next two stories felt like they were leading up to something, but still felt like more zany misadventures. This movie is the first to feel like a part of a much bigger story. A story that we care about, a story that matters. Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix has restored my faith in summer movies. In a year of disappointing sequels, its great to finally see one that not only lives up to expectations, it obliterates them.
4.5/5
