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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Image

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97%
4.03 

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- India
Of Potter Pottiness and Muddled Muggles!
Jul 18, 2007 06:14 AM 2232 Views
(Updated Jul 18, 2007 07:17 AM)

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Let's face it, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the least liked book in the series!  And, at 700+ pages it's not exactly slim and trim either. The book did improve with repeated reading, but, to take a plodding, slow-paced book and to morph it into a movie containing appreciable tension and entertainment value is a daunting task. David Yates is the 4th is a long series of directors to attempt to bring his vision of the much loved series to the silver screen. Does he succeed? Read on and find out!


Heralded by many as the movie which nudges the Potter series over into the realm of adult entertainment, the movie is touted as having a dark, sinister atmosphere, singularly manifested by the heavy frowns on the foreheads of the Hogwarts students. The sole exception is Ron Weasley(Rupert Grint) who doesnt seem to have paid much attention to the scowl-as-you-go memo. Picking up where the Goblet of Fire ended, with the return of Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter(Daniel Radcliffe) finds himself the center of attention once again, but this time as'The Boy Who Lies'. The Ministry of Magic refuses to believe that Voldemort(Ralph Fiennes) is back, and is on a campaign to discredit Harry and Dumbledore(Michael Gambon). However, the witches and wizards who do believe Dumbledore are convinced that Voldemort is seeking a weapon this time around and have formed the secret Order of the Phoenix to fight him.


As part of the Ministry agenda to keep an eye on Dubmledore, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, is the Under-secretary Dolores Umbridge(Imelda Staunton), Rowling's power-hungry figurehead of government, who tries to control every aspect of life at Hogwarts - with decrees, laws, and the ultimate hatchet - expulsion, while teaching very little DADA to the students. With a relevant contemporary side-note, Rowling has showcased the difference of idealogy arising between the govt and the free-thinkers in times of turmoil, with any opposition being instantly labelled'disloyal', a milder form of the word unpatriotic that we have been so familiar with in recent times.


Too young to join the Order, Hermione Granger(Emma Watson) takes matters into her own hands, spurring Harry to teach DADA to students willing to learn. Harry is once again involved in events an ordinary 15 year old wouldnt be able to handle - resisting Umbridge, a girlfriend and his first kiss, anger towards Dumbledore for ignoring him, making new friends like Luna Lovegood(Evanna Lynch), a Ravenclaw who has the uncomfortable habit of speaking the unpleasant truth, teaching his schoolmates DADA secrets and recurring dreams of Voldemort all coupled with the angst felt by any ordinary rebellious teenager. All of these factors culminate in the final showdown and battle between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters at the Ministry of Magic.


In this version of Rush Harry Rush, we have plot elements introduced so rapidly, accompanied by the choppiest editing in any of the Potter movies, that a large number of the non-readers who had the misfortune only to have a Potter fan in the family will be left feeling hopelessly muddled. Even the final exposition between Dumbledore and Harry fails to give answers to many questions raised . that is if anyone will even care by the end of this movie. Umbridge isnt the only one wielding a sharp hatchet here, the prohecy, Grawp, Grimmauld Place, Kreacher, Tonks, Quidditch are some of the few which have been sacrificed to the screenplay, slashed to allow the story to move forward at a rapid pace. I did read that the director wanted the ultimate battle to be absolutely stunning and that's sadly how the movie feels, a whole lotta filler material for the final showdown. Now if only that battle was even remotely interesting, this strategy might have suceeded ala POTC3. But I think this movie will weed out the Potter fans who will determinedly watch the rest of the series from the other folks, those who just dont care anymore.


I have continually been underwhelmed by the acting of the kids in the Potter movies, most of the acting here is as expected. The adults do stand out, especially Staunton as Umbridge, with an inspired poisonous pink presence and the most irritating little cough ever to grace celluloid. Helena Bonham Carter does an almost perfect impression of the madness of Bellatrix Lestrange, while Alan Rickman is criminally underused as Professor Snape. Gambon still comes across as a tired old man instead of the awe-inspiring, authoritative Dumbledore. When a wizard points out to Fudge'You have to admit Dumbledore has style' we are left wondering - maybe you had to be there to be similarly impressed.


The most irritating factor is the difference of creative vision through the movies. While I'm all for the change that allowed Alfonso Cuaron to make the pleasurable POA, the fact that this is a series seems to escape most people. So, from one version to the next, we have minor differences which add up to a distracting watch - from the overall look of each movie, to the differences in the way the Dementors are portrayed, Harry's Patronus which looks different each time, and, the portrayal of the the witches and wizards dissolving into black smoke(or white smoke, as the case maybe) in the final battle. This smoke effect, while looking stunning enough for this movie, and which might have looked stupid with people pointing wooden sticks at each other and yelling, does suspend disbelief that such an amazingly cool power would manifest itself only towards the 5th version of the movies? However, some of the more unfortunate special effects seem to have been retained, like the light sabre effect with the wands and the usage of the colors black for the'evil' wizards and white for the'good' ones.


Bottomline, this is an average watch ONLY if you are a fan of the Potter movies without reading the books.


If you are neither of the above, and are just slightly, remotely curious as to how it turns out without sitting through 2:15+half hour of previews, here's a 5 second plot summary of the movie -


Harry is the Boy Who Lies - Voldemort uses Divide and Conquer with the wizarding world - some mundane events and rebellion at Hogwarts - Voldmort, Harry and Dumbledore face off at the Ministry - everyone sees Voldemort - Death Eaters kill Sirius - prophecy, shmophecy - Harry is the Chosen One - The End!



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