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| Value for Money | 7.6/10  |
|---|---|
| Reviewer Rating | 7.6/10 |
| Overall Rating | 7.4/10  |
| Warner Home Video |  | £17.99Free P&P |
Full review by
mr underhill
expert review 
on 18th Oct 2007
User Rating : 8
Respect :
0
Good Points: Superb direction Visually stunning Great effects Solid performances
Bad Points: A few of the kids still need to relax in front of the camera Emma Watson's over-earnest Hermione A shaky ending
General comments: Suffering from ever-more-frequent nightmares after his fateful encounter with the resurrected Lord Voldermort (Fiennes) last year, Harry Potter (Radcliffe) has just had a particularly miserable summer with his detestable relatives. Things are made even worse when he finds that he and Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore (Gambon) have been made the subjects of a media smear campaign. The Minister of Magic himself, fervently denying the renewed threat to the wizarding society, takes it upon himself first to discredit Harry, and then undermine Dumbledore's authority by imposing his own bureaucratic representative on the school (Staunton). Meanwhile, Harry has discovered an alarming mental connection between himself and his nemesis, which threatens the stability of his mind...
There's a moment in the latest Potter instalment that makes you feel really old. It's a flashback from the very first film of a minuscule, bowl-haired Daniel Radcliffe staring into a mirror. When we're brought back to the precocious present-day Potter, following this stark contrast, he seems even less of a boy than ever before. Yet it seems hardly yesterday that Warner Bros.' fantasy franchise first obliterated box office records with Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, way back in 2001 when the Potter phenomenon was truly at its peak. Six years, five films and millions of dollars later Warner Bros.' star pupil is still on a roll, but things have changed slightly. For starters, those three loveable young moppets, Radcliffe, Grint and Watson, are not only old enough to drink and drive (though not at the same time you'd hope) but are flirting and even snogging on screen. Of course that's nothing. Lately Mr Radcliffe has been attempting to shake off his good boy persona for good by strutting around in the buff on the Westend, not to mention flicking condoms at Diana Rigg on BBC comedy Extras. Perhaps even more disconcerting, young Miss Watson was recently entered into FHM's 100 sexiest poll. But in the innocent world of Potter, a single kiss is a significant step towards more adult matters. Weren't these sprogs eleven only recently? Clearly it's true what they say, time flies when you're having fun.
While the Potter films have been getting better for years, growing along with their audience, Order of the Phoenix would appear to be the first genuinely cinematic offering. Sure Mike Newell upped the scale to impressive effect with Goblet of Fire, but as a result the British boarding school familiarity that's so much a part of Potter's charm was lost in the din. It would appear that David Yates, the fourth director to take on the challenge, is the first that confidently tackles the text and successfully blends all its elements. Seemly unconcerned by the considerable length of his unwieldy source material (at a monstrous seven hundred and sixty six pages it's the most rambling of Rowling's series) Yates and scribe Michael Goldenberg effectively hone in on the central threads of the book and casts off the baggage. After all, do we really need to dwell on Harry's career advice and exam revision sessions? The result is a slick, stunning and often downright spectacular fantasy treat, grand but still with its feet planted firmly on the ground. Unlike its predecessors, which often created the impression of a hurried flick through the novel's key chapters with a series of disconnected scenes, OOTP flows nicely, with several terrifically staged montages accompanied by a rousing score by new composer Nicholas Hooper. The most innovative of these moments are when we literally soar through a series of blaring propagandist newspaper headlines, rejuvenating that overused clich and effectively propelling the narrative forward without losing the pace. The first Potter to really experiment with editing, the boy wizard's internal struggle with Voldermort is strikingly portrayed with dramatically spliced images and the occasional surrealist flair.
But there's also plenty of time for laughs, provided largely by the sickly sweet new teacher Dolores Umbridge and the leering school caretaker Filch (David Bradley). As the pink-wearing, kitten-loving, well spoken Umbridge, Staunton has created the most loathsome creature we've come across so far, topping even Fienne's histrionically 'eeevil' He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. A deliciously toxic combination of Vera Drake and Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Umbridge defines the 'wolf in sheep's clothing', embodying our most feared school teachers who always disguised malevolence with middle-class manners. Also joining a cast that will surely include every notable British thesp before long (I'm holding out for an appearance by Bill Nighy, surely an essential addition to the rogues gallery) Bonham Carter does a great job with limited screen time as cackling lunatic Bellatrix Lestrange. The regular kids hold up well, although Watson's Hermione is still always too goddamned earnest, and newcomer Evanna Lynch is ethereal perfection as the gang's kooky new playmate, Luna Lovegood. Meanwhile, Gary Oldman, David Thewlis and Brendan Gleeson make welcome returns to take control of the drama as the Order, lending some deftly handled gravitas to the affair. It's no longer all up to the kids to get things done, and now most of the players are introduced and Rowling's world is well established it's time to roll up robe sleeves and cut loose. A frenzied penultimate magical skirmish in which the members of the Order go head to head with Voldermort's Deatheaters finally propels Potter from fun kiddie romp into an adult world of real peril and violence. Coupling awesome effects with a breathtaking, adrenaline-fuelled pace, we're not left wanting. And that's even before the Voldermort vs Dumbledore finale: a vicious, super-scaled, explosive showstopper easily deserving a place alongside fantasy cinema's greatest stand-offs.
Despite all these improvements and triumphs, Phoenix, like its predecessors, remains a companion to its literary counterpart rather than a film in its own right. Admittedly not to the extent of three and four, it's still pretty much essential to be familiar with the story before entering the theatre. Being released alongside the books, the films and books are hardly trying to be disassociated. In fact, never before have the two mediums been so tightly entwined. But the eagerness of Warner Bros to jump on the Potter bandwagon before it was half way through running its course all those years ago does finally present some problems. Denying themselves the perspective afforded other filmmakers who are able to observe the overview of a completed literary series before adapting it, there's now some inevitable groping around in the dark. With the retrospect afforded us with the release of Rowling' seventh and final novel we now notice some small omissions in OOTP which, though not immediately necessary, might prove problematic later on. After all, while Columbus' first two offerings seemed to work on the assumption that Harry Potter was to be a series of stand-alone adventures for our boy hero, we now know that its one continuous, expansive story, with clues sprinkled throughout each and every book. Unless she's deliberately trying to sabotage these adaptations, you'd assume Rowling would have thought to point these things out. While the variety of directors has lent the franchise new perspectives, it has also noticeably affected the continuity from film to film. Newell's decision to end his GOF on an oddly upbeat note instead of a foreboding cliff-hanger, complete with a smiling Harry seemingly recovered from his recent ordeal, could lead to some confusion at the start of Yate's OOTP which returns to a decidedly traumatised boy-who-lived. But at least through some neat flashbacks there's now some attempt to draw things together, and with the news that Yates is signed on for Potter number six, these errors of judgement could be a thing of the past.
So the end is now in sight, and the last two films will be in the disconcerting position of standing alone, without mummy Rowling to hold their hand, the full weight of the ongoing Potter legacy on their ever-broadening shoulders. But these prudent concerns about the future seem irrelevant to a franchise that's so far displayed the same blinkered unconcern for the future as a child. After all, we're still in school right now, things are going well, and the future is so far away.
mr underhill's review and ratings | 1381 words
Review by
shivorny
expert review
on 12th Aug 2007
User Rating : 8
Respect :
0
After an unsettling summer for Harry Potter following the return of the Dark Lord, and an ambush in Little Whinging by two Dementors no less, he returns to Hogwarts for a fifth and action-packed year. This year sees the return of all our favourite characters, and a handful of new faces, most noticably, the new ministry-appointed defence against the dark arts teacher - Professor Umbridge! Although, unlike the rest of the teachers, she's rather sinister and in no way as cuddly and cosy as she firs ...
shivorny's full review | 287 words
Review by
yellowtimechris
on 10th Aug 2007
User Rating : 7
Respect :
0
My girlfriend wanted to see this film so I had to take her, to my surprise I didn't rate it too highly, must admit the film felt a little too long and the smiling situation always seems weird.... but..... I didn't get a numb backside and some effects were fantastic. An excellent film for 9 year olds and girlfriends to see.
yellowtimechris's full review | 60 words | 2 comments added.
Review by
emza2511
on 7th Aug 2007
User Rating : 8
Respect :
0
I have never read any of the Harry Potter books and just seen the films, well the first, second and this one! Going into the cinema thinking that having missed out two films I would be totally lost and wouldn't enjoy it the same, however I was pleasantly surprised! I think these films can be happily watched independently (although I wouldn't recommend it) and I did have someone who read all the books and seen all the films next to me filling me in at bits I didn't understand, e.g who is that? Oh ...
emza2511's full review | 153 words
Review by
angst
on 5th Aug 2007
User Rating : 9
Respect :
0
To be honest I am a huge fan of the Harry Potter books and did not like the early films until after I had read the books. I think it's a shame when people are overly bothered that a film does not exactly match a book as this would be impossible; they are two different formats as certain aspects of a book do not translate well onto the big screen and should both be judged as such. In this manner I loved the first four Harry Potter books but I felt the Order Of The Phoenix and The Half Blood princ ...
angst's full review | 181 words
Review by
pelletgunhunter
on 3rd Aug 2007
User Rating : 7
Respect :
0
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix is a great film; action packed with some small comedy bits thrown in too. I have not read the book so I don't know if it follows too well, but it's good. Definitely worth seeing.
pelletgunhunter's full review | 46 words
Review by
lankykat
on 2nd Aug 2007
User Rating : 7
Respect :
0
A great film, definitely not to be missed by any Potter fan. Wear comfortable pants though and go to the loo before the film starts as its long, but you won't want to miss a bit!
lankykat's full review | 175 words | 2 comments added.
Review by
thepaladin
on 17th Jul 2007
User Rating : 7
Respect :
+1
I won't be as long as speeddemon as (he or she) covered most of the problem in detail. I'm a sort of book purist to so I missed all that was left out. For the people who haven't read the book, I think you'll enjoy this one. I'd say it was better than the last two.
I'm still disappointed with Michael Gambon's portrayal of Dumbledore. Having "met' him in the books I just can't get with the portrayal we're getting. Of course making it worse is that before he died Richard Harris had pegged the ch ...
thepaladin's full review | 240 words
Review by
paulco
on 16th Jul 2007
User Rating : 8
Respect :
0
I haven't read any of the Harry Potter books, I've just seen the films. I think this film is definitely one of the most enjoyable of the lot so far. It's more dark than the others, but better for it. It had more of an ending than the last one too, so although it's obviously not the final end, it still felt like an end had been found.
I'd really recommend people to watch this film, and watch it digitally projected if you can, as it completely irradicates all flickering etc therefore the picture ...
paulco's full review | 117 words
Review by
SpeedDemon
on 13th Jul 2007
User Rating : 7
Respect :
+2
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.
Th ...
SpeedDemon's full review | 1612 words
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