Unexpected Changes Gives "Phoenix" Fresh Twist

Rating: 8/10 (17 August 2007)

Following the unexpected early dark turn in the film series with "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," I quickly got skeptical if the last four films would turn out good. I'm pleased to say that with the next two having come out since the summer of 2004, they're halfway home- and David Yates is the best director yet in bringing out the Harry Potter magic on the screen, something that Chris Columbus and particularly "Azkaban" director Alfonso Cuaron failed to do. Where "Goblet of Fire" improved in displaying the magic and focusing more on Harry's story, "Order of the Phoenix" did even better.
Yates was able to wrangle a 900+ page book down into the shortest movie yet in the series, which was a minor letdown for fans of the books, but succeeds in focusing on the elements that concern Harry's mental well-being considering that most consider him a liar and psychopath for claiming that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned.
One of the most surprising things of "Phoenix" and Yates' approach was though he had more than plenty of source material to go by with such a lengthy book, he actually made some changes on top of the deletions- changes that, for the most part, are for the better- particularly in the end of the movie where they feature a sequence where Harry faces mental torment in chasing Voldemort from his mind, a solution that is never explained in the book.
All of the events concerning Harry's well-being or rather lack of it are in the film, and that's what makes it acceptable that the movie was short despite the length of the book.
Most importantly, the audience feels the magic of Hogwarts. It feels like retribution for the magic lost in previous early films, particularly "Azkaban." The movie is unresolved, yes, but that's the idea: there's two more installments to provide all the answers. 3.5 stars/4