The Best Potter flick so far

Rating: 10/10 (17 July 2007)

The book Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is unwieldy and cluttered, so much so that it is by far the most boring and weak of the books so far. However the movie has taken the ingredients of what could have been a great book and turned them into a great film by trimming off most of the excess fat.
The world of wizardry is in turmoil as Voldermort is seizing power once again. But rather than do something, the Ministry has chosen a stance of aggressive denial, where ideas about Voldemort's return are stamped out through the poisonous representative at Hogwarts Delores Umbridge ( a very unlikeable Imelda Staunton ) whist Voldemort recruits his former Death Eaters, including the insane Bellatrix Lestrange ( Helena Bonham Carter ).
This is a well-put together story; helped by the fantastic cast, all playing their part, particularly Michael Gambon as Dumbledore and Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy. But it is the two polar opposites in Snape ( Alan Rickman ) and Sirius ( Gary Oldman ) that steal the show, both of whom Harry shows very different sides of his personality to- and through which new revelations about their characters are unveiled. Their chemistry with Harry in their scenes together is remarkable.
Order of the Phoenix is a great film and it shows that sometimes films can be better than books, even in a massive book franchise like this.