Order Of The Phoenix is the Empire Strikes Back of the series!

Rating: 10/10 (18 July 2007)

how could a Pottter fan go wrong with this one? blissful visuals. I don't know where they found David Yates, but I am pleased to know he will be directing Half-Blood Prince as well & will be looking forward to his future projects to come.
exciting plot/story. It almost hardly bores. It may have a lot missing that was in the book (subplots, etc.), but that happened for the two films before it (azkaban & goblet) and they are probably my two favorites next to OotP.
an amazing cast that truly grows better & better one release after the other. At first I was disappointed that the Order themselves weren't in it more, but now that I recall, they weren't really in the book that much either, at least for anything truly important or worth adapting, especially when trimming a book that was almost 900 pages down to almost two & a half hours of screen time. Also, Daniel Radcliffe shows us a new dimension of Harry Potter, and a new side of him as well in acting prowess. I believe this to be his best performance to date.
As my heading states, I like to call Order the Empire Strikes Back of the series. I don't say that to compare it to the Star Wars film or series, though I'm sure Rowling has borrowed many epic formulas which Lucas himself adapted from hundreds of films & stories before his time. I call it that because it made me feel the similar atmosphere as Empire: tragic losses, angst, betrayal, the overbearingly bad outweighing the good , the distresses & personal conflicts & pain the protagonist(s) must face. I could go on, but refuse.
Bottom line is, this may not be your favorite HP film, but it is my own favorite so far. I doubt anyone will see this and not be disappointed at what they see. Really the only thing I can think of that would tick any of the fans off is how much they cut out from the book, but as peeved as I was about it, after awhile I just learned to accept it for what it was: a great, entertaining movie, & deep down, a faithful adaptation.