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HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX Send This Review to a Friend
Combine the boundless imagination of J.K. Rowling, the power of cinematic special effects and the ongoing saga inching its way toward a supposed final book and we have yet another “Harry Potter” franchise movie to stir comment during the summer. This tale, efficiently directed by David Yates from a screenplay by Michael Goldenberg, comes across as an especially complicated one, with Daniel Radcliffe looking appropriately older in the title role and beset by self-doubts like a Hogwarts Hamlet.
Harry is in early trouble. He uses his magic in a tight situation outside the wizardry and witchcraft school. Definitely a no-no. Therefore, he must face charges and is in danger of being expelled. Don’t count on it.
As the plot thickens and variations on the good vs. evil theme and feelings of guilt expand, the special effects inevitably become the main attraction. One of the most stunning is the aerial invasion of the school, which leaves the place in somewhat of a shambles. That’s apart from the whirling now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t imagery in which the screen is awash, the waving of wands with varied results and overall preoccupation with dazzling the eye amid tests of wills and strength.
Oh yes. Harry gets to kiss Katie Leung as Cho Chang in a tender but fleeting moment that demonstrates his growing up. The cast, as customary, is an illustrious assemblage of stars who, apart from financial rewards, obviously get a kick our of partaking in one of the most famous franchises in filmdom, including Imelda Staunton, new to the pack as Dolores Umbridge, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Brendon Gleeson, Richard Griffiths, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, David Thewlis etc.
And what would a Harry Potter extravaganza be without Rupert Grint as Ron Wesley and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger?
One can argue about how this entry stacks up in the series, but the important thing is that yet another Harry Potter film is here to snare the interest of devotees and perhaps make a few new ones. A Warner Brothers Pictures release.
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