Directed by:
David YatesScreenplay:
Michael GoldenbergCinematography:
Sławomir IdziakComposer:
Nicholas HooperCast:
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Jason Isaacs, Tom Felton, Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon (more)VOD (6)
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The rebellion begins! Lord Voldemort has returned, but the Ministry of Magic is doing everything it can to keep the wizarding world from knowing the truth - including appointing Ministry official Dolores Umbridge as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. When Umbridge refuses to teach practical defensive magic, Ron and Hermione convince Harry to secretly train a select group of students for the wizarding war that lies ahead. A terrifying showdown between good and evil awaits in this enthralling film version of the fifth novel in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Prepare for battle! (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (11)
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 the book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix became my favorite on celluloid as well. The new screenwriter, Michael Goldenberg (for whom Order of the 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 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince even more, as Yates will be able to unleash himself from a more secure position. The fans are eagerly awaiting.
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“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.
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I never really liked this story, both in book and in movie form. For me, it's the weakest piece, although Half-Blood Prince is not great either, mainly because the finale completely failed in that film. For me, Order of the Phoenix is like an empty space where you're waiting to see how it will all turn out.
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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. :)
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Paradoxically, the longest book got adapted to the film with the shortest running time in the series (probably excluding the second part of Deathly Hallows), but I can't say that I'm significantly dissatisfied with this fact. Since I write similar things in almost every review that concerns the Potter saga, I'll sum it up like this: an audiovisually perfect gem (the final duel of Dumbledore and Voldemort was truly impressive) that leaves a powerfully satisfying feeling thanks to the as always great music, sound and cinematography. Imelda Staunton was wonderfully annoying and repulsive. Helena Bonham Carter portrayed her character convincingly and with grace. Next to the third and fourth episodes, the fifth is the best of the series, despite the shorter running time.
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