Harry Potter and the order of the phoenix

[sprocker]

I'd never though they would make the biggest book in the shortest movie but they did it...

For the avid Harry Potter reader the whole suspense leading up to HP Order of the Phoenix can be summed up in the word "how". How are they going to translate a nearly 900 page book to the screen, how are they going to tie together a storyline that in the 5th book breaks into dozens of streams like a mighty river coming to its delta.

This seemingly impossible task is well accomplished by astute summation of plot and concentration of action. Also, the heart and soul of the book, i.e. the thematic spirit of the story and Rowling's shining gift for characterization are given the fullest support in this film more so than in any previous HP movie.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix basically involves Harry being persecuted by the government for telling a truth they refuse to believe all while dealing with the same feelings of teen angst and emerging love that any ordinary teen finds stressful and consuming. Only through the love and dedication of family and especially friends does Harry come across the means to fight back against the government, elude his enemies and make some sense of his emotional turmoil.

Most reader's will come out of the theater saying "I wish they had shown this or that." However, all will leave satisfied that they have been treated to a faithful rendering brilliantly acted and directed. All the HP movies are a "good watch" but in this one we get a great movie.

We have the advantage of going to our HP movies with a non-reader and she was, to say the least, blown away and pronounced it a near classic. My daughter and myself have read and reread the books many times over and came out limp from exhilaration, our keen anticipation very much fulfilled.

A few highlights: The acting is best ever. The three principles push themselves to a new level. My favorite new characters were Imelda Staunton as Delores Umbridge, excellent (you'll love to hate her) and Natalia Tena as Tonks. Natalia is sheer delight. She is the penultimate punk rock witch girl(think Dead Milkmen here). And Helena Bonham Carter is in her medium (she played the witch Morganna in the movie Merlin) as the dangerous and demented Bellatrix LeStrange.

Battle scenes: breathtaking. Commraderie: The only HP that actually caused me to get teary so heartfelt are the portrayals of friendship and family.

See the film knowing that unless you want a 10hour movie some things are going to have to go. Leave having enjoyed a film that takes the beans and water and instead of a nice large coffee treats one to a perfectly concentrated, most artfully brewed and extremely tasty espresso. It has been said before but truth is truth: BEST YET!
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[Desbrina]

I actually though that this wasn't that good. I mean, i cant expect them to stick the whole book into the movie, but some parts of it were confusing

The only good part of it was the fight at the end
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[coralvalley]

Admittedly I never read the book, but I will say that I thought the film was ok. They did a pretty good job with it and visually I was rather impressed with it when we were seeing it. Of course we were able to see it in the IMAX experience and that in itself only enhanced the film. The scenes near the end were really the bulk of the 3D experience in itself, but they were pretty impressive. I thought the movie was a step up from the one before it, but that was just my opinion. As I said I didn't read the book, but I'm sure that there was a lot that I missed because of that.

[Maneechan]

The ONLY good thing that comes out of the 5th movie was Luna Lovegood.

[ruyss]

[Courtney_G]

I felt the movie was added a nice visual element to the original text, but I've been telling my friends to read the book before seeing the movie if they haven't read it already. Maybe that's because I did read the book first so I knew what was left out. But all the same, I thought it was a good movie.

What I don't understand though, is why movie makers won't extend movie lengths. Lord of the Rings set the precedent and even though a three hour movie is pushing the limits, Harry Potter has just as big a cult following that would happily sit through three hours of their favorite wizard.

[RohitMalhotra]

I guess it is different when you read a bok you need to describe the scene the charachters in it the mood .. which could be just be shown by the sets and the lightng hence saving a lot of screen time .. both the book and the movie have their own charm i for one enjoyed the book more .. but at no point not enjoyed the movie itself too ...

Rohit Malhotra
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