A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

The Evaluation System Reviews by Title Reviews by Date

Reviews from Video Reviews of the Classics Personal Background

Title: Harry Potter (5) and the Order of the Phoenix

Date Viewed: 7/15/07

Details:

Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter)

Emma Watson (Hermione Granger)

Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley)

Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood)

Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley)

Katie Leung (Cho Chang)

Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom)

Tom Felton

Gary Oldman

Brendan Gleeson

David Thewlis

Natalia Tena

Timothy Bateson (Kreacher)

Michael Gambon

Alan Rickman

Emma Thompson

Maggie Smith

Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge)

Ralph Fiennes

Director: David Yates

Score: 1/2

The Review: Especially with such a popular and interesting series of novels, it's very difficult to disengage from being a reader, forget the intricate details of a twice-read novel, and enjoy the movie as an independent, unbiased artistic event. I enjoy my reading too much to do that, so I must declare some degree of conflict of interest in this review. The movie is not the book, alas, but it's an OK adaptation.

The kids are growing up. This is their fifth year at Hogwarts Academy for Witches and Wizards, and the hormones are flying even if the broomsticks are not. A boring summer is rudely interrupted by an attack of dementors (in suburban Surrey? -- comfortably muggle Little Whinging?!); Harry is introduced to the Order; and there's some new oversight by the Ministry of Magic at the school. This year's annual update as teacher of Defense against the Dark Arts is the toad-like & smarmy Dolores Umbridge (played to the hilt by the diminutive Staunton), determined to teach the students nothing about defense, and little about practice. It's a transparent exercise in McCarthyism, brought forward to the present day and clothed in more contemporary (if just as black) robes.

The closing battle in the Ministry has some decent SFX (it might perhaps have been more effective in 3D?, but I only saw the flat version).

As the novels become longer and more detailed, the movies become more like Reader's Digest condensed versions of the originals -- with entire plot lines omitted, nuances glossed over, and a lot of character development tossed by the wayside. Those occasional, more exciting or action-packed scenes are brought to the fore at the cost of lost details -- the very same details that make the novels rich and worth reading. Yes, cinema is a very different art form from the novel, and the transition has been rocky in many a case; I could have hoped for a bit better here.

(10-Sep-07)

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