Well, I Admit It, The Best Potter Film Yet! (SPOILERS)

Rating: 9/10 (11 July 2007)

SPOILERS
I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I have read every book, I have seen every movie, so I was definitely excited about the Order of the Phoenix coming out, but when I heard that it is only 138 minutes, the shortest Potter film, and it was the longest book, with 870 pages, I was a bit worried that this was going to be a mess of a movie. Fortunately, it was not. Sure, some scenes were rushed, and they left out some good scenes, but I was impressed by some aspects of the movie. For example, they left out the scene with Harry going into the Pensieve and discovering that his father was a jerk, but they included that when Harry gets into Snape's mind. There are small things like that that can make something interesting.
Here is the plot. Harry Potter begins his fifth year in Hogwarts with a some problems. Firstly, Lord Voldemort is back and the Ministry of Magic does not believe him. Secondly, the school has a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, the sinister Dolores Umbridge, who wants to take over the school. Thirdly, Harry keeps having visions of Voldemort and fears that he is becoming him. Umbridge really is not a favorite of the students, and she does not like to talk about how to defend themselves. Instead, they read books. Harry then forms Dumbledore's Army, a secret club in which several students practice spells. Then, Harry has a vision of Ron Weasley's dad getting attacked by Voldemort's snake and saves his life. Harry then starts taking Occlumency lessons to block his mind is Voldemort attacks. After that, Harry has a vision of his godfather, Sirius Black, getting tortured in the Department of Mysteries, and he wants to save him. Harry and his friends arrive in the Department of Mysteries, only to discover that the vision was a trap for Harry to get a certain Prophecy. Voldemort's minions, the Death Eaters, attack Harry and his friends. Then, Sirius and others members of the Order of the Phoenix come to rescue them. Sirius is killed, and Voldemort arrives to kill Harry. Then, Dumbledore comes and save Harry from Voldemort. Harry then discovers that he has to kill Voldemort, or Voldemort will kill him. Harry and everyone else flee the Department of Mysteries, and the year ends.
Overall, I do think that this is the greatest Harry Potter film yet and rightfully should be. David Yates did a fantastic job directing, the acting is wonderful, especially Imelda Staunton as Umbridge, who played the role of Umbridge absolutely perfectly. The visual effects are truly incredible. The music is quite good, too. The only major flaw is that they really rushed Sirius's death. He died in a snap. However, I do like the aftermath, when Bellatrix Lestrange, the one who killed him, runs, and Harry chased her. The shaky camera is great. Also, they left out some important things, like Ron joining the Quidditch team. In fact, they left Quidditch out completely. Anyway, with all that aside, though, this is a magnificent summer film.
9/10
Recommended Films: Harry Potter 1, 2, 3, and 4.