I don’t think I’ve ever walked out of a Harry Potter movie feeling the way I did with this one. The first three left me fulfilled, but not overly "wowed." The fourth film was a huge disappointment. It felt more like an episode of the horrendous “OC” than a Harry Potter movie. “Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix," however, left me feeling emotionally overwhelmed and more fulfilled than any movie I’ve seen this summer.
To dumb down the story in my own words, Harry is faced with his most torturous year at Hogwarts yet. First he faces the threat of being expelled from Hogwarts for defending himself from dementors. Then a hideous new headmaster, Dolores Umbridge, takes over the school and no one believes Harry about the return of “he-who-must…” eh…Voldemort. However, Harry discovers the Order of the Phoenix, which is an organization built to fight Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Harry builds his own army in secret and the movie follows our hero in an attempt to save Hogwarts from Umbridge, make it known that Voldemort is back and discover the connections Voldemort have with him. (This is all far less simple than it sounds, but don’t expect to learn about the whole movie in one review.)
Apparently, (or more obviously) the book has more, but for those who honestly expected everything in the book to be in the movie—Get real. The movie by itself relies on the extravagant strengths of the series and utilizes them in the best way we’ve seen since the first film. Gone are the teen-angst, college “greek” moments of the fourth film, which echoed painful flashes of trash series’ like, “The OC,” and “Languna Beach.” Instead, the troubled young characters have fear that is more genuine to the situation they’re involved in. Also, unlike the weak fourth entry, the dark atmosphere of this film is not forced in any way. The writing, cinematography and character development is so much more mature than what has been seen in the last few films.
In fact, I've got to take a moment to praise the cinematography. I’m glad this film didn’t look like the last four; with the stories getting darker, the look should be more on level with adults as well. That said, lots of the camera activity is new to the series: The horrific way Harry’s nightmares are filmed, the shot of Harry falling on the ground as Hermione watches—It all feels so fresh and, fittingly, darker.
The actors finally seem to be showing their maturity as well. Rupert Grint plays his best Ron Weasley yet. None of his bad overacting appears this time. Meanwhile, Daniel Radcliffe pulls out all the stops for his performance as the continuously haunted Harry. Never have I been so impressed with him. He really does strike me as a vulnerable young man facing dark times. At the same time, however, it shows he is also growing to be a brave leader.
The trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione, have never looked so close as friends. The new characters that step in are equally engrossing. Luna Lovegood, the young blonde oddity of the team has such a charismatic glow about her that I rather wish she were on screen more. Whenever she is appears she steals the spotlight with all too much ease. Neville gets a far more significant role this time and his character is thrown in to new developments and twists that were quite unexpected. No longer is he the bumbling comic relief-- He’s growing in to a warrior and a great asset to Harry.
The newly introduced Umbridge seems to do her job all too well. There will no doubt be a great debate about who the non-readers hate more: Voldemort or Umbridge? She very well may be one of the most odious characters to grace the silver screen. And despite my disdain for the current actor playing Dumbldore, there was not a moment I didn’t welcome his presence on screen. As my own loved one said, “It’s pretty hard to screw up Dumbledore in this movie.” She’s right. “Badass” doesn't seem like a word to use for a Harry Potter film, but this wizard takes the cake.
The excellent finale blows the previous film's ending out of the water. Wand fights and a shocking end to a beloved character highlight what already seems like a fine closing to the film—And then Dumbledore and Voldemort show up with their wands out and wits ready. “You shouldn’t have come tonight Tom.” Utters Dumbledore, and thus the battle we’ve all fantasized about begins. However, the real treat is Harry’s inner struggle with Voldemort. The emotion leaking off the screen as Harry confronts his nemesis trying to get inside his head is what has been missing from the series for a while.
The weaknesses of the film lie in just minor flaws. The lack of a proper explanation for the Dementors’ attack was unsettling, and I’m not sure how a handful of students broke in to something as important as the Ministry of Magic so easily, but oh well. These qualms are afterthoughts at best I suppose.
Is there room for improvement? Yes. Is it the best Harry Potter to date? Tough call. It’s defiantly the best since the genius first film. It has flaws but it doesn’t really matter. The overall feel of the film was so engrossing I wanted to go back for more. David Yates has proven to be a fantastic edition to the franchise. I was very skeptical of his abilities at first, but he knows how to create an effective and powerful drama from this popular series. May the next one be just as engrossing.
***½ out of ****
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment