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)

“How dare you speak his name?! You filthy half-blood!” –– Well, look. Steve Kloves was told to piss off somewhere, and behold, this is my favorite movie of the entire Potter saga, thanks to which I was finally, after all these long years of waiting for the right Potter movie to get me, immersed one hundred percent into J.K. Rowling’s fantasy world, and was able to award it five stars in good conscience. The previously unknown Mr. David Yates has emphasized the dark atmosphere of the movie, which really literally engulfs you. In addition, as soon as the amazing Dolores Umbridge, played by the incredible Imelda Staunton, starts to cast her spells on the screen and is so nice to everyone around her that she makes you want to throw up and laugh out loud at the same time, you will be surely reminded of at least one former teacher in it (well, I recognized several). I still remember sitting in the last row of the movie theater and my friends and I would sit in suspense every time Filch nailed Umbridge’s decrees to the wall, waiting impatiently for Filch’s ladder to finally fall. I thought the cast were the most likable in this installment so far, even more so when their ranks were perfectly complemented by Evanna Lynch (I just love that “completely out of it” look of hers!), my beloved weirdo Helena Bonham-Carter (as always, absolutely superb) and also Mr. Hooper’s great soundtrack, which, especially in the finale, perfectly underscored the whole atmosphere of the movie. It is just a real shame that the next installments are to be written by that dumbass Kloves again. –– Edit:  So after watching all eight installments of this franchise, I dare to say that this one outshines the others by a very wide country mile, and in fact it is the only installment where I felt the same excitement while watching it as I did while reading Rowling’s books. It is just so totally obvious that a different person was hired to write the screenplay for this movie. (24/06/2008)

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)

I never really liked this story, both in book form and in the movie form. For me, it's the weakest piece, even though "The Half-Blood Prince" is quite decent, mainly because the movie finale there was absolutely disappointing. "The Order of the Phoenix" is just a kind of empty space for me, waiting to see how it actually turns out. (30/12/2014)