Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

(3.5 of 5 Giant Roosters)

The latest Harry Potter movie should have been subtitled, How Michael Goldenberg and David Yates Ruined The Series in 138 Minutes. OK, so maybe the series isn't ruined, but Order of the Phoenix definitely does not live up to the standards set by the previous four films. I'm sure it was a tedious task to adapt the longest Harry Potter book into a film of reasonable length, but Michael Goldenberg, the screenwriter, did two things to piss me off: 1) He cut way too much; 2) He made unnecessary changes. One of my favorite scenes from the book, which I was actually telling non-readers to look forward to in the movie, is the exchange between Professor McGonagall, played perfectly by Maggie Smith, and High Inquisitor Delores Umbridge. Casting Imelda Staunton as Umbridge, who looks like a pretty-in-pink cardigan-wearing cat-loving grandmother but who, with a smile on her face, delights in the torture of children, has been applauded by ever reviewer-- for good reason. The show-down scene (in the book), has Umbridge sitting in on McGonagall's class to appraise her ability to teach. The dialogue that results between the two, in front of the students, needed no improvement. The loathing held for the High Inquisitor is obvious, as well as the fear of upsetting her too much because of the power she wields. Instead of this scene, it was replaced in the movie with a much weaker show-down between the two characters. In my opinion, it was an unnecessary change. I can understand tinkering with scenes for the purpose of saving time, and cutting out parts of the book-- like the Quidditch matches-- that aren't needed to move the core story along, but why make change for the sake of change? Likewise, the opening scenes were changed for time constraints, but in ways that detracted from the consistency with previous films. For instance, Wizards are to try their best to remain unseen and out of sight when using magic. Harry has gotten in trouble himself for this very thing, in this movie, no less! Yet here we see witches and wizards gliding over the River Thames and London on their brooms. (The book has them avoiding cities by climbing high into cold, wet skies.) What was the reason for this change? I cannot think of one. Why wasn't it explained that Ms. Figg is a squibb? Of course I knew because I've read the books, but it would've taken maybe ten seconds to explain this in the film. Having Sirius give him the photo of the Order, instead of Moody, was possibly the only good change from the book. It gave Sirius, played by Gary Oldman, some much needed screen time and helped solidify the connection between him and Harry.

Did director David Yates tell Emma Watson to hyperventilate in every scene? She's a great actress, but her constantly heaving chest was distracting. Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe have also both improved in their acting skills, and the chemistry of the three on the screen is fantastic. That of course, is very helpful since a huge chunk of the storyline deals with their interpersonal friendships.

But as much as Misters Yates and Goldenberg screwed up the first two hours of the movie, they redeemed themselves with a spectacular finale. The showdown between the good guys and the bad guys finally happens, and it is spectacular. With wizards and witches and wands everywhere, it is a battle-royale that can't be missed. The Death Eaters versus Harry and his friends, and then the members of the Order, and then Voldemort and Dumbledore all join in the battle. I had the pleasure of watching the IMAX 3D version of the film, and it was amazing. Only the climactic battle is in 3D, but when Harry falls down, it literally looks like he's gonna fall into your lap. The detail on the gigantic IMAX screen is enough to let you see the razor bumps on the growing teenage boy's faces (Makeup!), the individual little faux-hairs on Umbridge's pink jacket, and every wrinkle on Dumbledore's aged face. It added quite a bit to the movie experience.

I am glad, however, that Steve Kloves, who worked on the previous Potter screenplays, will be returning for movies 6 and 7.