Harry Potter has certainly grown since the Potter craze began back in 2001. It seems like just yesterday the unknown actor Daniel Radcliffe was just a mousy 11-year-old with an underdeveloped talent for witchcraft. Now he spends his nights making his clothes disappear in front of a live audience. Yes, Radcliffe is growing up indeed and Harry Potter is developing just as fast. So long are the days when Harry’s biggest annoyances consisted of Potions class, evading Filch and Malfoy’s sneers. You-Know-Who was mostly lurking in the background, but now he’s back in human form and only Harry is capable of accepting this truth.
I’m a huge fan of the Potter series (books first and movies second), but Order of the Phoenix wasn’t exactly the best Potter book. Truth be told, it was my least favorite and it took me 3 tries to read it all the way through. Why was it so hard to get through? First, it is the longest of the books, but it is also the most tedious. The plot moved along at a glacial pace and nothing good happens (at least up through the first 400 pages). I know that surprises are fun and I shouldn’t complain when Rowling decided to mix things up by making the story so dark, but what happened to the mystery and the awe that the Potter series was known for dishing out. These are all minor complaints, because ultimately after I finally finished the book, I loved it as a chapter in the series. It is still my least favorite, but in the way that a parent might secretly have a least favorite child.
Enough about the book, this is a review of the movie after all and the movie was great. Most of this is due to the superb direction by British television director David Yates who isolates Harry and slowly builds a sullen tension off of his loneliness. Year five is a will-testing year of sorts for Harry. Everyone turns on him, the school is taken over by the Ministry of Magic, Hagrid’s missing, and oh yeah, Voldemort can enter Harry’s mind.
As every Potter book begins, Harry is spending his summer with his muggle relatives. Soul sucking Dementors attack Harry at a playground, which sets up Harry having to go through a Ministry of Magic trial for the crime of the underage use of magic. You see, this is really all just a ploy to kick Harry out of school thus silencing him from rousing concern that Lord Voldemort is back. Everyone seems perfectly happy believing Potter is crazy than accepting the terrifying truth. It’s scary when you finally realize that maybe things like Global Warming aren’t hoaxes after all. Ah, the sweet smell of denial.
Harry isn’t banished from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but a member of the Ministry is granted special powers to teach at the school and govern over the schools activities. This teacher is Professor Dolores Umbridge played deliciously by Imelda Staunton. She rules over the school like a 50’s loving fascist inebriated with power smiling sadistically all the way. As the main villain she assumes the open position as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and tortures her students with a very different teaching style. She believes children should be taught defensive theory as opposed to anything that a real witch or wizard should know, like spells and charms for example. We finally have some good news when Harry finds he does have some friends that still support him and they form a secret group of rebel fighters who will teach each other defensive magic if they won’t learn it at school.
The production values in this Potter adventure are really astounding. We have a few great action sequences towards the end as Harry & co face off against the Death Eaters. Any non Potter fans following this? The costuming, effects and settings are as believable and atmospheric as in the other films. But, the problem with adapting these longer books is that a lot must get chopped out. For example, Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman only have a couple of scenes to show off their acting gusto. And Hermione and Ron have been reduced to tiny minor characters. But this is still a fun Potter adventure and at least to me a little more enjoyable than reading the book for the first time. Sorry for being brief, but I must get back to reading the Deathly Hallows.
B+
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