Fifth installment of Harry Potter has nothing new to offer
Movie Review
Peter Richardson
Issue date: 7/17/07 Section: Entertainment
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (HP5) is the fifth installment in the every two year money making machine that is the Harry Potter films. As with almost every film in the recently revived "movie adaptation of a fantasy book" genre there is little choice but to compare the movie to its original book. Like the Harry Potter films before it this comparison gives the HP5 movie a lot to live up too and many fans to please. In most cases this movie succeeds at bringing HP5 to the screen even though it is in no way an amazing movie.
Of course, the story in this movie follows along a similar path to the fifth Harry Potter book. Unfortunately for the movie crafters, the fifth book is quite a hefty read and thus is a lot to try and fit into a two and a half hour movie. Large portions of the book's plot are entirely skipped and almost all of the subplots explored in the book are entirely ignored. While this might anger many the hardcore "Pot-head" fans, it was necessary because the main plot is enough to take up all of the movies running time. This story cut does leave a lot of the movies obvious questions unanswered and we have to assume that Harry actually learns something from this year at school, finds out more about his dad, passes his OWL's, and makes up with his girlfriend to name only a few of the loose ends. Overall, because of the plot cuts the movies story, while hitting all the major points, doesn't really manage to feel any more that a bunch of strewn together moments from a year of Harry's. Still, with that said you won't really notice these details until you leave the theatre. The plot is serviceable enough to keep you in your seats.
The real main pull of the Harry Potter films are the characters. All the cast from the first four films return and have even recently signed contracts up and through the last (seventh) movie. Even though the main three characters all look 25 years old nobody mentions it and with a little imagination you can place them right back into the familiar wizarding world scene. A little character development happens throughout the film, and some decent acting occurs but most of the film involves similar acting to the last couple of Harry Potter films. While some characters don't rub you the right way, most are almost perfect for the film and their respective big shoes to fill from the books. Of course the previous four movies, or the first four books are definitely required material before viewing this film or else little will make much sense at all.
Of course, the story in this movie follows along a similar path to the fifth Harry Potter book. Unfortunately for the movie crafters, the fifth book is quite a hefty read and thus is a lot to try and fit into a two and a half hour movie. Large portions of the book's plot are entirely skipped and almost all of the subplots explored in the book are entirely ignored. While this might anger many the hardcore "Pot-head" fans, it was necessary because the main plot is enough to take up all of the movies running time. This story cut does leave a lot of the movies obvious questions unanswered and we have to assume that Harry actually learns something from this year at school, finds out more about his dad, passes his OWL's, and makes up with his girlfriend to name only a few of the loose ends. Overall, because of the plot cuts the movies story, while hitting all the major points, doesn't really manage to feel any more that a bunch of strewn together moments from a year of Harry's. Still, with that said you won't really notice these details until you leave the theatre. The plot is serviceable enough to keep you in your seats.
The real main pull of the Harry Potter films are the characters. All the cast from the first four films return and have even recently signed contracts up and through the last (seventh) movie. Even though the main three characters all look 25 years old nobody mentions it and with a little imagination you can place them right back into the familiar wizarding world scene. A little character development happens throughout the film, and some decent acting occurs but most of the film involves similar acting to the last couple of Harry Potter films. While some characters don't rub you the right way, most are almost perfect for the film and their respective big shoes to fill from the books. Of course the previous four movies, or the first four books are definitely required material before viewing this film or else little will make much sense at all.
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