Best movie of them all!

Rating: 9/10 (17 July 2007)

As a reader of the Harry Potter books and one who has seen all of the movies, I confess I went into the theater expecting something that was barely mediocre. I was pleasantly surprised.
The Order of the Phoenix happens to be my favorite book of the series so far, so I planned on seeing it in theaters when it hit. However, after the less-than-stellar performances in Goblet of Fire, I didn't have much hope. The acting was quite good in this installment. Radcliffe portrayed a 15-year-old teenager very well, with his constant mood swings and whirlwind of emotions. I found him very believable and felt as though for once, I could relate to him. He is on a dark and twisting journey, one quite like a lot of people go through in their lives. As mentioned by another user, I was also pleased with Michael Gambon's performance. Although he butchered the character of Dumbledore in GoF (Goblet of Fire), I believe that he found Dumbledore's true essence in this movie and really allowed himself to become the Dumbledore. Very impressive.
The plot was very easy to follow as well. I went with a friend to the showing who had only read the first two books and seen only some parts of some movies, and he commented that this was the only one that he could truly follow, and he actually found it quite interesting. I did have to explain some crucial elements to him, but other than that, he understood what was happening, which i've heard is pretty rare for those who see the movies and don't read the books.
As I said before, this movie also happens to be my favorite book in the series, and I was delighted that the movie happened to stay pretty true to the book. It did, however, skip a couple of my favorite scenes (such as "Snape's Worst Memory") and there were many chronological errors and entirely new scenes added. But that is expected with any movie that is adapted from a book. Probably with the exception of the first movie, I believe this movie was the truest to the book overall.
Overall a 9/10. A truly brilliant movie, and an even more brilliant book. I know that we can look forward to the same with the 6th movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, for David Yates will be directing that movie as well.