Favorite Franchises: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
Directed by: David Yates


Plot Summary: Harry Potter stands up against some serious adversity heading into his fifth year at Hogwarts. During the summer, Harry is attacked by Dementors in his hometown, causing him to use the Patronus Charm and thus violates the rules about underage magic and is expelled from Hogwarts. When he reports to a hearing to plead his case, it is made aware to him that the Ministry of Magic is silencing all reports of Lord Voldemort's return and have labelled Harry and Professor Dumbledore as liars. The Ministry places an official, Delores Umbridge, to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher at Hogwarts, but she does not teach the students how to use spells out and uses unconventional methods to punish students that do not follow her rules. The more power she gains at the school, the more miserable the students become and it is up to Harry and a group of students to form Dumbledore's Army, a rebellion set out to learn defensive spells and defy the wishes of the Ministry of Magic.


And here I thought the Harry Potter films couldn't reach a lower point than Chamber of Secrets. But, we've come to the first time that I have watched a Harry Potter film that honestly made me go "Why should I care about this?" Now, don't go saying that I'm a hater, or that I don't understand the source material, because that's far from the truth. I love Harry Potter. I love the books and I love the films. That being said, I'm not some brainwashed fanboy who believes that everything that comes out of a franchise I like is solid gold. Whether it's Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, or Harry Potter, there are still bad moments that occur in the films, but you can still like them. It's just knowing how to take both the good and bad qualities of your films and seeing which side weighs out in the end. In the case of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I found that it had more negatives than positives. It took me a while to place where the problems started until I heard on a DVD documentary that this is the only film in the series to have a different screenplay writer than Steve Kloves. Now, not to say that Michael Goldenberg is a bad writer, but he also did the screenplay for Green Lantern so his resume is not working well in his favor. Still, the film introduces at least 3 popular Harry Potter characters in this film (one of which I will talk about in a later review) and offers some memorable action sequences at the end, so I think a lot of fans give it a free pass in quality. I'm not here to do that today, but I'll go ahead and analyze how the characters worked or didn't work in the film as the series continues to evolve.

Harry Potter, played by Daniel Radcliffe, finds himself alone against much adversity in this film. At this point though, it feels as if Harry as a character is just going through the motions. He's growing more courageous and is really stepping out as a leader, sure. That's great to see, but it really isn't establishing a different tone or progression from the previous films. As a result, Harry becomes one of the lesser compelling characters of these middle movies. He's going to get his chance to shine in the final battle in Deathly Hallows, we know that. But while we are waiting for him to get there, other characters are being introduced or making their exits from the series and we are paying more attention to them. Hence why this film made me question "Why should I care?" If I'm caring more about every other character besides our main protagonist, can that really be considered a success? If I actually have to talk myself into caring about what's going on, isn't that a problem? But I digress.

There's actually one really strong moment for Ron Weasley, played by Rupert Grint, in the film. When barely anyone will believe Harry when he says Voldemort has returned, Ron stands up for him no questions asked. It's actually a really solid interaction as you could believe that these two are best friends. We all have friends that have done that for us, or we've done that for our best friends. I just wish we could have had a few more instances of that scattered throughout, as this scene comes and goes rather quickly. Hermione Granger, played by Emma Watson, has one subtle shift in character that grows from her frustrations at the Ministry. She thinks with how extreme things have gone, the only thing that can be done is for her and her friends to break all the rules. Again, this moment is just kind of a "comes and goes" action, as it happens and then not really spoken of again afterwards. I kind of wish Ron and Hermione would have a little more to do in this film, as they are kind of just blend into the background after a while. Heck, they kind of push the whole training of Dumbledore's Army on Harry's shoulders, and are just there to partake in the training. With the adventures they've had together, I'd assume the Army could have at least had 2 assistant leaders who can do more than call a secret meeting early on. These two are just kind of "there" in the film at this point, as many more characters are introduced and allowed time to grow and develop.

One of the best characters introduced in Order of the Phoenix is Luna Lovegood, played by Evanna Lynch. Apart from being terrifically quirky, she forms a really quick bond with Harry as they are the only two in their close group of friends that has experienced death. She also is one of the only people to reassure Harry that she believes him when he says Voldemort has returned. As far as character introductions go, Luna is one of the better ones handled in this series and she is truly one of the shining spots in this disappointing installment. What really makes this character work is Lynch's performance, which should come as no surprise. She was a massive fan of the books and films when auditions came for the role of Luna. Talk about a dream come true.

One of the nastiest villains in the Harry Potter universe debuts in Order of the Phoenix in the form of Delores Umbridge, played by Imelda Staunton. Forget about Voldemort, THIS is the evilest character in the entire series. Really, when you think about what's more frightening, both are equally evil. But look at Voldemort, black cloak, noseless face, bald head, snake-like, it's what you'd expect to be evil. Umbridge loves cats, the color pink, is entirely self-righteous, and is always trying her best to keep on smiling. That's just wrong. That's freaking twisted. Evil should not be packaged so cheerfully. Also, while I would never endorse the concept of a man hitting a woman, I can say that for my money's worth, Umbridge is the most punchable woman in film history. Then again, that's the entire point of her character, so it's good to know Staunton is doing the part well.

After five films, you can really see the evolution of the Harry Potter series. We not only see these child characters all the way back in Sorcerer's Stone evolve into mature young adults, but we also see their actors evolve into more experienced performers. There's also a noticeable, yet progressive evolution in style for the filmmakers. Chris Columbus definitely laid a lot of groundwork in the first two films, but since then, every director that has been brought into the series has added their own spin. David Yates was the last director used for the series and actually worked to complete the final four films in the series, which is probably the most consistent form of evolution in the films. I just wish Yates would have had a better debut in the franchise instead of Order of the Phoenix. Hopefully as the films progress towards the end, we can see that Yates was not at fault. That the flaws were only in the script not written by Steve Kloves. We can only hope that that's the case.


Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix suffers by trying to cram the largest book in the series into the film with the shortest runtime. With this being the only Harry Potter film to not have Steve Kloves write the screenplay, many subplots are mismatched with the main picture and the film just seems to lack the fun and effort that the previous films do. I can honestly say, as a film experience goes, that this film is a mess and is barely salvageable thanks to the final action sequences and the inclusions of Umbridge and Luna Lovegood.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and movie images are copyrighted by Warner Bros.