Least Favourite Harry Potter

Rating: 8/10 (12 May 2020)

When reviewing Order of the Phoenix it would be unfair not to take into account the fact that the source material is an 800+ page book, and the difficulties this must've presented in selectively cramming the story into a film with little over 2 hour runtime. Many cherished chapters from the book are omitted screen time, but I suppose David Yates does a good job in bringing to life those chapters that have merited inclusion.
Imelda Staunton is not the most well known actress but she does a brilliant job in portraying one of the most hate-able characters in literature history (Dolores Umbridge of course). Helena Bonham Carter is also cast perfectly as Bellatrix Lestrange. The film doesn't do any justice whatsoever for characters such as Tonks however, and I've always felt the relationship between Harry and Sirius is never fully developed on screen, minimising the impact of the climax of Order of the Phoenix. The duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort is outstanding however and not only rescues the finale of the film but adds an extra star onto this rating.
Overall Order of the Phoenix probably doesn't do enough to avoid the wooden spoon in my Harry Potter rankings. Of course, I still adore it for its contribution as a magical adaptation of the greatest fictional work ever written.