Review:

When the first book came out, I was so skeptical of the entire series that I actually refused to pick up the first book. Then, after years of people trying, I finally picked up Sorcerer's Stone and like so many before me, became a fan. The fifth book in the series, Order of the Phoenix, is actually one of my least favorite in the series for reasons you will likely see echoed elsewhere. Harry's too whiny, and the plot moves at a slower pace than in the other books. Because of this, I went to see Order of the Phoenix with a bit of skepticism.

To my surprise, I experienced a moment similar to the one I experienced when the first time I picked up Sorcerer's Stone. The soundtrack, the effects, the cinematography and the directing all worked in harmony to really pull me in to the film. I didn't experience a feeling of drowsiness like I did with Columbus's renderings of the series. Nor did I feel like I was being ushered out of the theater like I did with Goblet of Fire's rushed plot. Instead I was delighted to find the same immersive world of the books laid out wonderfully on screen.

That being said, like all book-to-film translations, the film has its issues. Many elements of the film lack any kind of explanation. Many of what should have been the film's most dramatic moments were over-simplified. Whether these things were cut for the sake of brevity or for the sake of making the film easier to follow is hard to say, but whatever the reason there were some bad choices made in the production of the film. As always when dealing with younger actors, there's a degree of overacting, however this was significantly reduced from the previous four films, and I think Watson, Grint, and Radcliffe are all significantly improved.

All in all, Order of the Phoenix is the second Potter film that didn't leave an initial feeling of disappointment. Yates and company should be given a lot of credit for this, especially considering that Order of the Phoenix is probably the least cinematic of all the books. There are some missing scenes, and many characters don't receive as many “moments” as they should (Ron Weasely and Professor Mcgonagall especially), but considering the 2:35 running time I can't cast too much blame. Whether you're a long-time fan of the franchise, or just a casual movie-goer, there's a lot of enjoyment to be had out of this film and the special effects make it well worth seeing on the big screen.

My Overall grade: B (8/10).