Not perfect, but it never could be...

Rating: 7/10 (15 July 2007)

In my opinion, the book is simply too big for it to be done justice by a two hour twenty minute film. I was impressed however by the effort that was made. Sure, there were lots of things left out, but the main body of the story was there.
As a piece of cinema: It was a brilliant. The visual effects were amazing, acting better than in most films (even though the trailers made Daniel Radcliffe seem like a very poor actor). Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman steal the show once more with their excellent performances. The only thing that spoilt the film in my opinion, was the over use of the newspaper montage, but i suppose without them the film would not have flowed as smoothly as it did.
As an adaptation of the book: As said earlier, for the size of the book, it was a good job, but some key things were missed out. One thing that disappointed me the most was the under-use of Tonks, who happens to be one of my favourite characters. Umbridge was played very well, though i did not think she looked like a 'toad' as she is described in the book. All in all however, it remained faithful to the book most of the way through.
In conclusion, 'Order of the Phoenix' is a good piece of cinema, and a fairly good adaptation of the book. I would recommend people who have not read the book to see the film first, then read the book, that way you will not be looking for things that have been missed out. Overall however, the films will never be as good as the books.