Excellent

Rating: 9/10 (16 July 2007)

As a huge fan of the Harry Potter books I always look forward to the movies. I've never been let down with any movie as I was still really young (eleven) when the first one came out so I didn't know any better. However looking back on all of them now I definitely recognize their faults and strengths. I was very excited to see The Order of the Phoenix but a little skeptical since this had been my least favorite book. I was blown away. If I could have kept any director it definitely would have been Alfonso Cuaron, whose style and touches were perfectly suited for the third movie and a welcome change from Chris Columbus's kid-glove style. Mike Newell did a decent job with the fourth movie, though it suffered from plot changes that didn't work well. I did (and still do think) that he had the toughest challenge thus far with staging Voldemort's return and he did do a good job with that. David Yates did an amazing job. I really loved that he kept the movie dark and unsettling, with a few smatters of well-done dry humor here and there. The book is dense and not a pleasant trip and he conveyed that sense beautifully. He also managed to achieve something that none of the other directors, not even Cuaron, could do: he made the movie flow. None of the first four movies flow well at all; they all feel awkward and jerky and you can almost always see when they remove something from the book and try and smooth the transition. By showing the issues of the Daily Prophet as transitions he keeps you informed on what is going on outside the walls of Hogwarts as well as inside. It was a brilliant touch that I loved.
Of course not all of the credit lies with Yates; the acting in this movie was superb. All three of the leads were at their best, although I did sense that the size of Rupert's role took a cut due to the immense popularity of Dan and Emma. Evanna Lynch was a better Luna Lovegood than I could have ever imagined. Helena Bonham Carter creates in Bellatrix Lestrange a villain that you can truly and purely hate. I always have trouble, even with the nastiest of villains, not feeling some sympathy for them or trying to understand them. I had no trouble hating the truly evil character that Bonham Carter paints. Imelda Staunton makes a perfect Dolores Umbridge. If I were asked at almost any time I would say that I much prefer Richard Harris's Dumbledore to Michael Gambon's, yet I felt that Gambon's portrayal was perfect for this movie.
The only gripe I have is that they do cut a lot out. It is the shortest movie whereas the book is the longest in the series. The movie isn't really hindered by this, but purists will be incensed. I feel that the only scene that really suffered from the cuts and changes was the customary Dumbledore explanation at the end. That scene in the book is fraught with important points and raw emotion that is not conveyed properly in the movie.
All in all I definitely felt that this was the best movie of the series and it is my favorite. Go see it.