For A Film Based On A Terrible Book...Not Bad

Rating: 8/10 (12 July 2007)

I've read the first 3 Harry Potter books. I usually see the movies first then read the books, otherwise I'll just nit pick the movies to death. Just ask anyone that was lucky enough to see any movie based on a comic book with me. My wife on the other hand is a Potter fanatic, and has read all 6 novels and is waiting with bated breath for the 7th and final book to come out.
I was nervous going into this film for a few reasons. The first being that the Potter films have done something most franchises don't usually do, they pulled off 4 great movies in a row. It was only a matter of time before they hit a speed bump. The second reason was I have yet to meet anybody that has read Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (the 5th book and film in the series) and has had anything good to say about it. Then again most people I know have had Luke warm things to say about the 4th book (Goblet Of Fire) and that turned out to be my favorite of the film series. So was Order Of The Phoenix any good, seeing it was based on what is considered by die hard Potter fans to be a horrible book? Was it better than the last film?
The answer is surprisingly yes...and no. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix is a good movie for a film based on a bad book, but however it's not as good as the last film (Goblet Of Fire) and the 3rd film (The Prisoner Of Azkaban) however it is better than the 1st film (The Scorceror's Stone. It's as good as the 2nd film (The Chamber Of Secrets) and that's not something to be ashamed of at all.
Like the 1st 4 films Order Of The Phoenix starts out with harry at the Dursley's. His Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and cousin Dudly still hate him and treat him like stuff you'd send down a toilet (actually i think that stuff might be treated batter). He is still troubled by the events in the last film that saw the return of the evil Lord Voldemort, and the murder of Cedric Diggery. He longs for a return to Hogwarts, but sadly realizes that this year at the School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry might not be a good one. The Ministry Of Magic has the people of the magic world convinced that Harry is a liar, as well as Dumbledore, and that Lord Voldemort has not returned, and this is just a cover up to the "mysterious" death of Diggery, and just a evil scheme for Dumbledore to try and take Cornelious Fudge's job as the Minister Of Magic.
The lies that have been printed in The Daily Prophet (The New York Times of the magic world) has turned some of Harry's good friends, like Shamus Finnigan, against him and most people believe that he has in fact gone crazy. The Ministry has also launched a full scale investigation into Hogwarts turning the school into more like a prison. In the meantime Voldemort is starting to gather an army, so Harry does the same to try and stop him, leading the School into sort of a civil war.
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix is a very dark film, and would most likely produce the most scares for small children. Voldemort is still creepy looking as ever and the film has produced the best villain of all 5, in Delores Umbridge (Think Nure Ratchett in pink). It was also nice to see Gary Oldman return as Sirius Black, as well as returning characters "Madeye" Moody and R.J. Lupin. Plus once again Jason Isaacs proves why he should play every villain in every movie.
This latest installment sets up for what should be great final 2 movies, and has me eagerly awaiting the next film, Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, a book which I have yet to hear anything bad about. Then again this is Hollywood, and leave it to them to make a great film based on a bad book, and a bad film based on a great book. For those of you who don't understand what I mean I've got three words for you...The Phantom Menace.