Let’s get one thing clear from the start: “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” is a good movie. It maintains the atmosphere of the previous Harry Potter movies, the acting is very good (Emma Watson’s overacting was even toned down a little), and, like the other four movies, it’s immensely satisfying to see all the magical aspects of the books come to life. Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood, especially, was a thrill to watch, and Imelda Staunton was sublimely evil as Professor Umbridge.
“Phoenix” is also very funny. There is plenty of comic relief to balance out the intensely dramatic aspects of the film. While such comic relief is nice, at times it feels as though some of the emotional scenes are cut short by misplaced jokes.
It’s not all good. Unfortunately, the fifth book is so long that it’s really too much content to cram into one movie. “Phoenix” was a really long book, but the movie version is the shortest of all the Harry Potter movies so far. Because of this, details and explanations get pushed aside for the strictly necessary action sequences and subplots that push the plot along.
For the casual Harry Potter watcher or reader, this isn’t necessarily such a big deal. The film will still probably make sense to someone who had never read the book. But for die-hard Potter fans, who take the series very seriously, “Phoenix” just isn’t up to par with the previous movies.
Characters who play large roles in the book, such as Sirius Black, Cho Chang, Harry’s friends and even Dumbledore, have been pushed aside for more emphasis on Harry and, oddly enough, Professor Umbridge.
A lot of time is spent showing just how evil Umbridge is, and while that is certainly entertaining, it would have been nice to see that time used to show Harry and the Weasleys visiting Mr. Weasley in the hospital or to show Ron becoming a Quidditch star at school. Even Hermione’s blackmailing of journalist Rita Skeeter is absent – a bit that would have helped to explain why everyone believes Harry’s story in the end. Everyone, it seems, plays a smaller role in “Phoenix” because time just doesn’t permit them to play the role they should.
Ultimately, these are minor details that don’t have a significant impact on the cinematic quality of the movie. But there just seems to be too many shortcuts taken and too many elements missing for it to be considered a faithful adaptation of a Harry Potter book.
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