Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

People who can reliably distinguish between different directorial styles and the quality of the parts of the Harry Potter saga are a bit of a mystery to me, because Harry Potter is, in my opinion, a typical example of a project that significantly suppresses creative individuality in favor of the desires of the producer and the author of the literary source. All the parts that I have seen so far had a very similar value and only the details were different. My rating ranges somewhere between three and four stars. It is a generously made series with a corresponding budget, special effects, and overall production design, but it never was a film that captured my heart. It's simply a fairytale, behind which stands the worldwide success of the books. However, the fifth part started to tire me and I am leaning towards the opinion of literary critics who accuse Rowling of being pretentious and megalomaniacal. She can, however, console herself that she is still far away from Steel and other book production factories. I would be satisfied with just four parts that would thoroughly describe the story of Harry Potter without any filler or dull moments. Overall impression: 65%. (10/10/2010)

Potter literary phenomenon has always gone past me (and probably will continue to) and I take their film adaptations as a parade of pretty pictures and good visual effects to see once, digest pleasantly and forget. However, David Yates succeeds where even Cuarón failed: to fully draw me into the plot and awaken my interest in the fate of the characters. Maybe it's also due to the source material, which thickens from episode to episode towards a slightly horror atmosphere, which is only a good thing. And Stephen King is right, Dolores Umbridge, with her sweet yet sinister smile, is indeed one of the nastiest female villains ever to appear in a film (Nurse Ratched from Forman's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest would be jealous) PS: Kids will be probably get bored, there are few cute creatures and vermin, and they won't even get to see the quidditch. :) (07/31/2007)

I apologize to David Yates that I doubted him. The introduction with the Dementors sets a psychological and dark tone that he doesn’t give up for the rest of the movie. Radcliffe has grown as an actor and even though he has a dumb hairstyle and round glasses, he has charisma. In fact, all of the main trio have improved and are more natural. Emma Watson is growing into a beauty (an Emma Watson poster appeared in my wardrobe out of nowhere, but don’t think I’m some sort of pervert, my sister stuck in on the door :-) and Rupert Grint has all the snappy lines. What most and pleasantly surprised me was the tightness of the storytelling and the overall fluency of action that was lacking in part four. Lots of things were left out, but hey, it doesn’t matter (well, apart from one of my favorite scenes where the main role was played by revitalized brains and a giggling Ron). The special effects are still at a high level even though in places it’s a little creaky, and the action is excellent. The whole final battle at the Ministry of Magic is breathtaking and I am beginning to hope that Yates will launch himself into number six with the same verve. But let Harry’s hair grow a bit :-). (08/06/2007)

The best-filmed Harry Potter since Cuarón's The Prisoner of Azkaban. Very few dead spots, the plot is built in such a way that even a complete HP illiterate will soon catch on, the return of Gary Oldman and the ever-improving Radcliffe, who at times shows something akin to charisma. David Yates has a perfect sense of atmosphere and pace of storytelling, and I'm not even sorry that the humor has disappeared. The only bad thing I can say about this series is that each film is essentially about the same thing and the end is nowhere in sight. However, if the magic is given to us with such grace, I have nothing against seeing it three more times. This doesn't change the fact that my nose still slightly wrinkles over the infinite amount of recycled raw materials (of better quality in the original). Potter is good at reading film trends, but doesn't bring anything new. [75%] (07/12/2009)

Along with The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Order of the Phoenix is the best Harry Potter film yet. Actually, if I had to compare, I might like it a bit more - unlike The Prisoner of Azkaban, I can't think of a single thing I could fault it for. From the voluminous book it managed to distil the absolute essentials, i.e. the conflict between Harry and the one-headed pink sleigh of Dolores Umbridge, and in addition to introducing great new characters (those who don’t like Luna Lovegood have no heart, but Tonks was also great), of course not forgetting Voldemort's antics and at the end of the book offering first a great magical shootout and after that an absolutely thrilling duel between Dumbledore and Dark Lord. The best scenes this time take place in the corridors and chambers of Hogwarts Castle. Whether it's the "Umbridge brings order" montage (with an excellent scene with Snape and Ron) or "Harry trains Dumbledore's Army" or the rampage of the Weasley twins, it's all got swing and style, shot with ease, is funny and suspenseful at the right moments, and underscored by excellent music. I think the wizarding saga has fallen into good hands with the arrival of David Yates, though I'd hate to jinx it. (09/09/2015)