Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The only way is rebellion... And a proper one. David Yates has proven to be a hero, cut from the best representatives of Dumbledore's army, when he managed to create an almost perfect Potter adaptation, despite all the criticism about his TV roots and the television look of the first image and teaser. Just like in the book form, Order of the Phoenix became my favorite on celluloid as well. The new screenwriter, Goldenberg (for whom Phoenix was unfortunately the only Potter experience), tweaked every scene to deviate from the original, yet without disturbing its essence. Furthermore, the Hogwarts atmosphere thickened exactly as I had imagined. Yates multiplies every hint of depression and turns Umbridge from unpleasant to unbearable, and from unbearable to the absolute nemesis of all of Hogwarts. Dumbledore then gains the aura of the most powerful living wizard, and his final duel with Voldemort takes your breath away, just like the surprisingly well-processed mythology surrounding divination, the connection of both magical opposites, and it even includes my favorite book part with Snape's memory. I am looking forward to the Half-Blood Prince even more, as Yates will be able to unleash himself from a more secure position. The fans are eagerly awaiting. (15/08/2007)

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)

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)

The Rebellion Begins. Daniel Radcliffe must have matured to the phase of puberty when he is eternally pissed and so he has no trouble of really being Harry this time round. Otherwise it’s hard to imagine that, all of a sudden, he learned to act. David Yates excels primarily in dramatic scenes with a minimum of actors. However, he hasn’t (yet) developed a personal style for action and crowd scenes. But he clearly is enamored with Cuarón’s style and manages to copy it more than just well. And, here and there, he adds ideas of his own. The casting of new characters is done well as usual, but, like the old ones, they get an absolute minimum of room. With the exception of Dolores, where Harry finally meets his match. Plus, Yates managed the almost impossible and manages to change Voldemort from a camp, laughable worm to a character that commands deserved respect. Hats off to the creators that they have broken away from the kids’ movie recipe with special effects meant to entertain the very youngest of kids to a rather more mature version which, despite (or thanks to) not having so many special effects, is all the more effective. Unlike the preceding part which turned into a pastiche of uninspiring illustrations to accompany the book, this time round it proved possible to at least create the illusion that there is a complete story that is headed somewhere. The fifth Harry Potter certainly isn’t flawless. And although at no point is this anywhere near as good as Cuarón’s distinctive adaptation, if you compare it to the rather routine and dull Columbus/Newell-style attempts, this comes out as the winner, hands-down. ♫ OST score: 3/5 (23/07/2007)

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%] (12/07/2009)