Haphazard film-making makes for a rather disappointing fifth part of the series

Rating: 7/10 (1 August 2007)

Even though I am only a moderate fan of the books (meaning I have yet to finish the last book, despite having it since the day it came out), I usually look at the release of a new Harry Potter as something to get excited about. Even though the quality is not always spot-on, there is just something about them that allows them to feel wondrous and fantastical all at once. And even with their numerous problems (albeit, not as bad as those associated with The Lord of the Rings trilogy), they still end up being rather enjoyable. Sadly, I think the quality has really begun to slip, as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was the first film since Philosopher's Stone that actually disappointed me as a film-goer and reader of the books.
I will not shed too much light on the plot (and the numerous subplots) that densely layer this fifth instalment, but suffice to say for those who have yet to venture through the book, will find Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) on thin ice with the wizarding world in regards to his accusations over the return of Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). But as those close to him rally to fight against the Dark Lord, Harry just may have to face a few more problems than he probably would like to.
Going in, I knew Order of the Phoenix was going to be a challenging watch. The book is the longest of the entire series, and is probably the densest. I liked it when I first read it, but subsequent re-readings of mere selections from the book have proved tiresome, and quite long-winded. Much the same then, has to go for the film. There is quite a bit going on, but you never quite feel like you are truly experiencing a genuinely well written storyline. Yes, it does feel very in tune with being just part of the larger framework of an entire series, but at least the others (with the minor exception of Goblet of Fire), have attempted to stay fairly within itself and not completely determinant on the audience having seen the previous films in order to fully understand this one.
While Order of the Phoenix does pack in a whole lot more of the book than the previous film did, it does so at a price. Many of the key subplots and even key story lines have been compacted into sometimes lengthy montage sequences. And while this would not be a problem in any other movie, it quickly becomes irritating here for just how many times it is done as time progresses on. At one point, it would be safe to say two montages were split by a sheer two minute scene. And these were five-minute montages! I am certain that they could have either compacted some of these scenes even further, or just fleshed a few more out. It would have helped the characters and the story be so much more well rounded than it is.
What the film also does not do is improve upon the shallow and ultimately anti-climactic ending. Instead, as hard as it is to believe, it is made worse. The initial start of the build-up towards the finale is very well done, and very well realized, but right when the real heavy hitting elements begin to pop up, the film falters. Besides not looking anywhere near what J.K. Rowling's original written words described, it feels genuinely rushed, and almost a second thought. If I had not read the book, I probably would have found much of the sequence to be rather incoherent, and other parts just totally misplaced. It just does not seem to be as well made and polished as other scenes in the movie, and everything from the acting, to the special effects, to even the story itself, suffer as a result.
Speaking of special effects, what happened to them? In previous films, the artists and designers worked hard to make everything look so realistic and so well blended together that one would never realize the difference between reality and fantasy. But here, almost every effect (with a few minor exceptions, one being the awesome opening sequence of the finale) looks very haphazardly created, and with zero to no enthusiasm for what was being created. People look fake in a lot of scenes, and the totally CGI-rendered characters stand out as almost blatantly not real.
But then, that is what this film really stands out to me as: a blatant unenthusiastic romp through a very messy book. The performances are all very well done (with a brilliant standout being Imelda Staunton as the quintessentially evil Dolores Umbridge), even those with very miniscule roles. But they are the only thing holding this production together. Everything is very erratically designed, but nothing feels anywhere near as magical or as fantastical as those earlier films. It just lacks the genuine zest that has become accustomed to the Harry Potter films, and replaces it with a very dull sheet of blandness. Yes, this can be blamed on Rowling's flawed fifth book, but the last four films have had even their most boring pieces cleansed over into something that feels keenly tied to the fantasy elements of the books. Here, there is a more heightened sense of realism for the actors, and not much else. It feels devoid of any of the magic that made these films so popular in the first place. Pitch black darkness content-wise is nowhere near a viable excuse for poor film-making.
With its problems, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix still pulls through as being heartbreakingly average. The story is still there, and the performances are some of the best to date, but I cannot help but feel that the magic is sorely missing from this instalment.
7/10.