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| Value for Money | 7.6/10  |
|---|---|
| Reviewer Rating | 7.6/10 |
| Overall Rating | 7.4/10  |
By SpeedDemon
on 13th Jul 2007
| Starring Actor/Actress | Some of the best Britain has to offer |
|---|---|
| Where Did You See It? | Cinema |
| Value for money | 8/10 |
| Overall value | 7/10 |
 SpeedDemon's recommendation | |
Good cast
Great special effects
Action packed
Not much character development
HUGE amounts of the book have been left out
So, how do you turn JK Rowling's 750+ page novel about Harry Potter's fifth year at Hogwarts, 'Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix' into a film of about 2 hours?
Simple answer is you can't.
The fifth on-screen outing for Harry and friends clocks up 138 mins and, inevitably, a lot of stuff that was in the book has had to be cut in order to cram the story into just under 2 hours and 20 minutes. So, if you've read the book what are you going to be missing out on?
Quidditch - Gone.
The whole 'Weasley is our King' sub-story - Gone.
St Mungo's - Gone.
Dobby - Gone.
Marrietta Edgecombe - Gone.
Rita Skeeta - Gone.
Mundungus Fletcher - Gone.
Harry's 'Quibbler' interview - Gone.
Not only could I go on but several other plot elements have been significantly changed from Rowling's original in order to cover the omissions and make the story flow. Unfortunately, this is the way of the world and, ultimately, the film makers have a job to do and that is to tell the story and make a good film. So can Harry Potter fans can relax at the prospect of a job well done? Yes - the story does, for the most part, get told and it most certainly is a good film.
The Order of the Phoenix was a real turning point in the Harry Potter books, darker with the characters growing up and battling the effects of their burgeoning teenage hormones and new Harry Potter director David Yates has captured that change to a tea. We see the characters' physical and emotional awkwardness, Harry's first kiss and some giant sized hints as to where the romantic inclinations of the central 3 characters are going to be heading (even if the characters themselves don't see them). The book also saw the growth of the characters from kids into young adults with their motivations clearly set out and this, sadly, is not repeated so well in the movie. This is partly due to the break-neck pace that is required to fit as much of the story in as possible but you can't help but feel that a different director might have got better, deeper more rounded performances out of the young stars. Rupert Grint and Dan Radcliffe have both obviously grown as actors (largely due to their work outside the Harry Potter franchise) but even so there are times when their characters are bordering on the two dimensional. Sadly, Emma Watson doesn't seem to have grown to the same extent as her male co-stars and, as a result, when they get going she is in real danger of being acted off the screen by the other two - it didn't quite happen in this one but it was close and will happen soon if something doesn't change.
But, enough picking holes - what was the film actually like? We start in Little Whinging, Harry is sat on the swings in the park with Cousin Dudley (played by Harry Melling and wow, hasn't he grown up - although most of the time his facial expression is more akin to acute constipation than mindless thuggery!) and his gang looking for a fight - preferably with Harry. Just as Harry and Dudley are squaring up for a fight a freak storm bowls in and the pair of them are running for home to escape the downpour, into an underpass and straight into the clutches of a couple of Dementors. This is the first proper taste we get of the special effects and CGI used in the film and, it must be said, it really is first rate. OK, personally I preferred the way the Dementors had been done in the previous film as I felt they were closer to my mental picture of them from the descriptions in the books but that really is nit-picking. Harry knocks off a quick Patronus charm (first time unlike the book), the Dementors are driven off and in walks Arabella Figg. Harry & Dudley have barely got home before Uncle Vernon & Aunt Petunia are bundling Dudley into the car (presumably to take him to hospital to get him checked out) and we've barely had a chance to blink when members of the Order are at Harry's bedroom door to take him to Grimmauld Place. As I said, the pace is not only fast but at times relentless.
It seems that no sooner has Harry arrived at Grimmauld place than Arthur Weasley is escorting him to the Ministry of Magic for his trial (with some nice 'not used to life among the Muggles' comic touches along the way). No sooner is the trial over than we're on the Hogwarts Express and so on and so on. All the major plot points are there and the bare bones of Rowling's story are told with flare and panache even if this does come across as more of an action movie than you would expect from reading the book.
Despite the unrelenting pace of the film we do get some stunning performances from some of the cast, not necessarily the ones you'd expect either. Matthew Lewis turns in a masterful performance as Neville Longbottom perfectly balancing the hapless, bungling clown with the desperation of a young man seeking to avenge the torture of his parents - comic when needed yet also touching and poignant. I will confess to not having been looking forward to seeing Evanna Lynch as 'Loony' Luna Lovegood because she's just too normal looking and, well, even pretty. When we first see her I thought her characterisation was more creepy than the dreamy description of Luna in the book but I soon found myself warming to her and, to her credit (having never done any serious acting before) she would have to get my vote for young female performance of the film. I can completely see why JKR herself was so taken with this young woman as she captured the eccentric vulnerability required to cut through Harry's emotions and be the friend he needs when he needs it to absolute perfection.
For those that don't already know the story I won't spoil it for you. This is a fun-filled, action packed roller-coaster ride of a film with laughs and romance along the way before reaching a thrilling climax in the Department of Mysteries. OK it's a climax with a few differences from the book (some more subtle than others) in a fairly different Department of Mysteries but it's thrilling none the less - the battle between Dumbledore and the evil Lord Voldermort is just stunning and well worth the entrance fee if you were to watch nothing else. Once the battle is over there's a brief summing up which, when you consider the issues to be covered, is probably a bit too brief as there are some major plot elements for the future episodes of the story that are glossed over in a way that could come back to haunt the directors of future films.
However, despite all the nit pickings, as a film it stands on its own two feet and puts a good sized tick in most of all the right boxes. It will certainly help if you've seen the previous films as these will provide the back-plot and establish many of the characters that this film simply doesn't have the time for but, for fans of the films, there's certainly enough to keep you not only happy but hungry for more.
If, on the other hand, you're first and foremost a fan of the books then despite all that is good about this film, and there is a lot that is very good, this is probably the film in the series that will disappoint the most, simply because of how much of the book has been left out and how much has been changed to compensate for what's been taken out. I can't help feeling that an extra 10-15 minutes would have enabled them to make this film so much more than it is - true, it would still have had most, if not all, of the characters and sub-plots that the film makers removed missing but we would have been able to see so much more emotional growth in the characters and backed off the gas just enough to be able to see the wood for the trees.
This is certainly a wonderful film, at least in as much as it is full of wonder. It tells a romping story with style, has some fantastic performances from a top notch cast, is beautifully shot, has spectacular special effects and a soundtrack that captures the mood of the film perfectly - In short, as a film about the adventures of a teenage wizard I'd give this a score of 10/10. Unfortunately it's not a film about any old teenage wizard, it's the adaptation of JK Rowling's 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' and on that front alone you have to feel at least a little let down.
So this is a good film but not, in my book, a great one - which is a shame because it could quite easily have been if not great then much, much better with very few changes. Of all the films in the series so far, this is the one that's crying out for an extended 'Director's Cut' when it goes to DVD, let's just hope that Warner Bros are reading this and agree.
| Helpful | Unhelpful | Agree | Disagree |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Total Respect: +2
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