An adaptation that cannot stand on its own

Rating: 6/10 (30 July 2007)

It's been years since I wrote the following words in my user comment for the first Harry Potter movie: "I enjoyed this movie immensely. But...I'll never know how I'd have reacted had I seen this movie without having read the books." By now, I must admit that the movie has held up well over all those years. It is a superior fantasy, despite my reservations about Chris Columbus's directorial style.
Unfortunately, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is not likely to hold up well in the future. It has precisely the problem that I worried the first film would have: it seems designed for those who have already read the book. Those who haven't will be confused out of their mind. Necessary plot connections are left out, and the relevance of certain material is never explained. One pivotal scene even references a particular character's code name from the Marauder's Map, something that has never been mentioned before in the movie series and which will make no sense at all to non-readers. And yet, as a reader, I did enjoy the film. I once called the first Harry Potter movie a "preview of the book," but this one fits that description much more.
Part of the problem is not the movie itself, but the gradual decline of the books. In "Order of the Phoenix," the series lost much of its sense of fun as it got bogged down in the ongoing story. It contained a few elements I really liked, amidst pages of matters I found unappealing. What held it together was a wonderfully horrible villainess, Professor Umbridge, who functions as a satire of England's educational system. Even as an American, I can relate to the criticism of schoolteachers who favor theory over practice, preferring textbook assignments to practical skill-building. In the Harry Potter universe, that leaves the students in mortal peril, keeping them from learning the skills they need to protect themselves against Voldemort, the super-villain whom Umbridge, a puppet of the magical government, denies has returned. Harry creates a secret club to teach students how to defend themselves. All the while, Umbridge inflicts a reign of terror on the school, with harsh and sometimes painful punishments for anyone--student and teacher alike--who steps out of line.
At 870 pages, it is the longest Harry Potter book, and I believe it should have been cut down. The manner in which Harry languishes through the ordeal becomes monotonous, with long sections in which not much happens. By contrast, the movie is the shortest in the series so far, less than 2 hours and 15 minutes if you don't count the credits. I expected this condensation to benefit the film, but instead it makes the whole proceedings choppy. Just a few minutes of extra screen time could have substantially improved the coherence. It gives me a greater appreciation for how the third movie--still by far the best one--achieved the paradoxical effect of streamlining the story while seeming richer and fuller in some ways.
I have never heard of the director, David Yates, and I don't understand why he's already been chosen to direct the next Harry Potter film. The series has already had two skillful directors, Alfonso CuarÃ³n and Mike Newell, each brought on for just one film. Maybe Harry Potter directors face the same Catch-22 as James Bond actors, namely that anyone good enough for the job has better things to do in their career.
Yates makes a mixed impression at best. He gives the film some of the most unoriginal imagery the series has yet seen, drawing upon old horror movie conventions as Harry is haunted by dreams and visions of Voldemort. The technical credits show some lack of continuity with the previous films. A couple of creatures look different, and John Williams' charming score has been inexplicably replaced by a more generic one.
On the bright side, the performances are mostly quite good. Familiar cast members like Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, and Gary Oldman continue to bring warmth and style to their roles. Daniel Radcliffe maintains his natural, understated performance that goes well with the introspective tone of the story. Actors I have not admired as much, such as Rupert Grint as Harry's friend Ron, and Michael Gambon as Dumbledore, seem to have improved significantly. There are also some impressive newcomers to the series: Evanna Lynch as the flaky Luna Lovegood, Helena Bonham Carter as the Wicked Witch-like Bellatrix Lestrange, and Imelda Staunton, who seems to provide a perfect embodiment of the short and shrill Umbridge. The weakest link is Ralph Fiennes, whom I suspect spent no more than a day filming his scenes as Voldemort. He seems to disappear into the makeup, making me wonder what was the point of bringing such an esteemed actor to this role.
The movie has some nice touches that weren't in the book, such as Umbridge's office being lined with moving photographs of meowing cats (I suspect that Yates is a cat lover, like myself) and Filch crowding the walls with Umbridge's inquisitorial decrees. But my favorite scene from the book--Dumbledore's hilarious exit--is truncated here and considerably less effective. Other crucial scenes seem to have no purpose except for setting up what is to come in the later films. Overall, this is the worst Harry Potter adaptation to date.