An underrated installment that thankfully maintains an appropriately dark tone

Rating: 8/10 (6 November 2010)

It's more than just Voldemort that Harry's going against now. It's the fact that he's fifteen. What I'm surprised not many others have pointed out is that Harry's actions, feelings, and self-"justifications" are very much in line with how some fifteen-year-old boys act. He thinks he's alone, no one wants to help him (it doesn't help that many students now distrust him), he's not confiding in his friends, and he thinks the world's out to get him. Well, he's half right. People are out to get him, use him, and ultimately bring him down. But what he needs to learn is that friends are at his side, that there are allies to trust in dark times. Unfortunately for him, growing up is going to get in the way of discerning dreams from reality.
If Mike Newell planted seeds of tragedy in "The Goblet of Fire," then new director David Yates is planting seeds of hopelessness. Immediately, Harry is reminded that he has no parents, he faces expulsion from Hogwarts for trying to protect his cousin from Dementors, and he's angry at his friends for not informing him of new developments over the summer. Dark doesn't even begin to describe the tone of "The Order of the Phoenix." Hogwarts no longer looks like an accommodating place. It's serious and joyless, hope is lost, spirits can be broken, and authorities have an iron hand.
David Yates may not have created an "enjoyable" installment, but he's still created a worthwhile one. What separates this from its predecessors is that this time, magic alone will not solve the problem. The only way Harry is going to get Voldemort out of his head is when he realizes that his friends are on his side, and that he's ultimately very different from Voldemort.
Of all of the "Harry Potter" stories, the may be the most Harry-centered. I loved how well Daniel Radcliffe juggled his external and internal problems. When he snaps back at classmates who accuse him of being a liar, you can feel his pulsating anger. Or when Voldemort forces him to horrific things, and you can feel the fear Harry has in his belief that he's becoming a bad person. If there were any doubts about Daniel Radcliffe taking on the role of Harry Potter, they were surely gone by this installment.
Some performers get to shine. Gary Oldman brings fatherlike-credibility to Sirius Black, and when he tries to reassure Harry that he's not a bad person, I truly felt like a father was talking to a son. Michael Gambon also brings more delicacy and vulnerability to Albus Dumbledore. Matthew Lewis gets more time as Neville Longbottom, and like Harry, he also has an old enemy he must eventually encounter. I enjoyed watching his expanded performance. Other regulars like Emma Watson as Hermione, Rupert Grint as Ron, and Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid, don't get as much screen time as you'd like them to, but they still make the most out of their roles.
New casting once again helps "Harry Potter." Evanna Lynch brings a great balance of quirkiness and honesty to Luna Lovegood, the marked-out student that Harry forms a bond with. Helena Bonham-Carter is appropriately mad as Bellatrix Lestrange. And Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge, man, I had to fight an impulse to slap her when she hypocritically said "I really hate children." Well done Imelda!
The best part of the film would have to be the climax in the Ministry of Magic. We get more terrific setwork by Stuart Craig (who beautifully constructs the clean-cut but foreboding corridors of the Ministry as well as the endless halls of glass spheres in the Hall of Prophecies), and there is a terrific duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort, the teacher vs. the pupil. This leads to arguably the best shot so far in the series, where Voldemort destroys the glass windows of the Ministry and bathes in his takedown, arms spread out in triumph. If there is an indelible shot that defines the return of Lord Voldemort, that's the one.
This is followed by yet another terrific scene, one where Voldemort attempts to posses Harry again (compliments to Mark Day for the terrific editing). It is here that Harry finally comes to his senses (with some help from Dumbledore), realizes that he and Voldemort are more different than alike, and understands that there is strength to him knowing love and friendship. Many people hated the following line he said to Voldemort, "And I feel sorry for you," but I found it to be very moving. It showed that just as Harry could care for his friends, he could also show remorse towards his enemies, a trait Voldemort can never imagine.
This is the only "Potter" film to be written by Michael Goldenberg, and he writes a tight and serious script. It doesn't have the sense of humor that Kloves could put into his "Potter" screenplays, but "The Order of the Phoenix" does benefit from a straightforward and no-nonsense tone. David Yates was an interesting choice for a director, seeing as his only experience was in British TV films. While his inexperience occasionally shows, he wisely puts his faith in his actors and the characters they inhibit.
To those who were disappointed that the longest "Harry Potter" book got turned into the shortest film, my advice to you is the same I gave for "The Goblet of Fire." Accept this film as a loose adaptation and appreciate it for what it is. The book was well over 800 pages long; even a 3-hour cut wouldn't have gotten even half of the material! As it stands, "The Order of the Phoenix" is integral to the grand scheme of Harry Potter growing up. It's not easy being fifteen and having to deal with a dark wizard who wants you to feel alone and isolated, and this film terrifically sells the point.