Posted by Martin:
Grade: A-
Reviewing a Harry Potter movie can somewhat of a silly exercise. You either like Harry Potter or you don't. But to complicate matters more Harry Potter is also a popular book series, and the movies get compared to their original source material a little too much.
This movie is the best of the five so far. The Harry, Hermione, and Ron seemed to enjoy fighting back at the tyrannical Dolorus Umbrige, which by the way is one of the best characters yet in the film series.
Dolorus Umbridge makes this movie. Her energy and passion for the wrongs she is bringing really jumps off the screen. I was quite pleased with how the director deftly showed the increases in the number of new rules being posted through out the school. Besides He Should Not Be Named, she is the best villain in the entire series.
Voldemort does get much more screen time this go around, and it makes for a more frightening experience.
But for those who are fans of the books, like I am, will be disappointed at the lack of Quidditch in the film. The movie plays as if there is no school life going on outside of Umbridge and Voldemort. So those that are looking for Ron to play keeper will be sorely disappointed. And the movie makes no mention of Ron and Hermione becoming prefects, which makes it a big missing character development piece.
But in the end the movie sticks to what it needs to stick to, whether or not Voldemort is back and the subsequent problems that causes Harry.
Books are a completely different medium for telling stories, than movies are. Books tell their story through words, thoughts, and exposition. Movies on the other hand are completely visual, and their story must be told through mood, glances, and editing. And the movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix does it's job very well.
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