Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) August 6, 2007
Posted by gproject in : Cinema, Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: David Yates
The fifth book in the worldwide phenomenon that is Harry Potter makes its now inevitable transition to screen, bringing with it a whole truckload of hype, especially given the timely release of the final book. Following in the footsteps of Goblet of Fire, this movie shuns the PG certificate in favour of the slightly wider-berth, but still family-friendly, 12A – it is clear by now that the Potter universe has gone dark, but is there light at the end of the tunnel?
This year, Harry is faced with an almost ministry-wide denial that Lord Voldemort has returned, with only a few dedicated followers, going under the title The Order of the Phoenix, willing to do anything about it. Meanwhile, Hogwarts school gets a new, Ministry of Magic appointed, defence against the dark arts teacher: Professor Dolores Umbridge. She slowly starts to take over the school while opting not to teach the children any actual fighting techniques. Perturbed by this lack of action, and with Harry’s prophetic nightmares becoming more frequent, the students form their own defensive magic class, creating a new resistance: Dumbledore’s Army.
As an almost obligatory point, I’d better make it known that I have never read the books and so am not clouded by the knowledge of what the story could (but not necessarily should – read on) have been. Every time one of Harry’s adventures hits the screen there are fans pouring over its every detail and many reviews feature the phrase “it’s not like the book”. Well no, it’s not like the book, it’s a film, and the sooner we all get over the fact that it’s going to be different, the better. Would there be fewer complaints at a seven-hour, rambling narrative movie, full of all sorts of irrelevant sub-stories and character points? I think not. Books are a different medium to film; the skill comes in adapting one for the other in a way that makes sense.
Thankfully, Order of the Phoenix does exactly that, producing a fairly comprehensible movie with just a few plot elements that aren’t fully explained. As a non-Potter reader, I had no problem understanding the story, so accessibility is not a problem here. Also, as mentioned, it’s a 12A certificate, although the content is not too heavy with only mild aspects of violence and the occasional nightmare or threatening image providing anything to worry young children.
The performances are the best of the series so far with all three central characters, but especially Radcliffe, proving that they were good choices for their roles. All the supporting parts, of which there are plenty by this point in the series, get significantly less screen time. In fact, nobody gets much of a chance to shine except for Imelda Staunton who plays the meddling Dolores Umbridge.
David Yates, on the other hand, gets plenty of chances to shine, directing with style and holding the film together in an interesting way. Even the dream sequences and moments of introspection by Harry are handled well, while the action scenes are suitably spectacular. It’s worth noting that it’s not just the tone of this movie that’s dark; the visual aesthetic follows suit, so whether inside or outside the lighting conditions rarely get above ‘dim’. Couple this with some handheld camera work and frantic editing during the magic-battle scenes and things do get a touch hard to follow, but there’s always enough there to at least give you the idea of what is going on.
My main criticism of the film is nothing to do with the visuals however; instead, it’s the lack of real narrative arc. This particular story takes 138 minutes to tell us not very much – if you look at where the film starts and where it ends, there’s not a great deal of difference. This may well be a failing from the book of course, but with all the little nuances and character sub-plots taken out, it highlights a lack of drive in the main story all the more.
It’s clear that this series is already beginning the lead-up to its big, final-book finale. This film itself is clearly all about setting things in place, which probably contributes to its distinct lack of defined story progression. The biggest worry is that there’s still another film, The Half Blood Prince, between here and the final movie, and I’m unsure as to whether audiences will tolerate another 2+ hours of stalling for the conclusion. For now though, Order of the Phoenix is an enjoyable summer flick, if one that contains less than its fair share of actual headway.
Comments»
You haven’t read the books, so I wont spoil - but the Half Blood Prince is my 2nd Favorite HP book (After Azkaban, which most people claim is the best film so far). Film No: 6 is going to rock!!
I’m afraid I’m very much in the “it’s not like the book” brigade. I gave up after the third film when it was becoming increasingly obvious there was so much good stuff not being included (for the understandable reason of keeping the film under the five hour mark!).
You’re probably right that not much changes from the beginning to the end of this one - from memory that seems pretty much how it was. However, I would say that I don’t consider the source material having much in the way of irrelevent sub-stories or character points - I think Rowling’s fairly direct in her style, and being (mainly) aimed at kids I think the storytelling is quite straightforward.
What I WOULD say the film versions lack at times is the wit of the narrative, which is mainly impossible to translate to the screen anyway.
As for there being another film in between this and the end, well, the above poster has pointed out there’s some great stuff in the sixth installment, but otherwise I agree. There are just going to be too many people who know how it all ends up now and I’m not sure there are going to be enough people still interested by the time the last film comes out!
Well it’s good to hear that the sixth movie will not be a complete waste of my time because, let’s face it, I’m still going to see it when it comes out.
Thanks for the comments guys!