Finally, an HP film worthy of the name

Rating: 7/10 (17 July 2007)

While 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' isn't quite the epic that fans of the books had hoped the HP films would grow to be, it is a worthy film and joins 'Prisoner of Azkaban' as the most redeeming of the film series. OotP sees Harry, now aged fifteen and more a man than a child, entering his Fifth Year at Hogwarts. Although Ron and Hermione continue to provide unyielding friendship and support, our hero is bitter and jaded in the aftermath of Cedric Diggory's death and questions his role in bringing down destiny. In addition to his burdens, he also has to deal with the new harsh, unsympathetic DADA teacher Umbridge, appointed by the Ministry and determined to discredit Harry's claim that darkness stalks the wizarding world once more, and Voldemort plundering his mind through telepathic (leglimency, for fans) means.
As per usual, the adult cast of the film are exemplary and I think we expect no less from these British veterans. Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon and Robbie Coltrane all succeed wonderfully in bringing their characters to life, despite the fact they still don't appear in enough scenes. Gary Oldman, as Black, and Remus Lupin, as Lupin, are both back again and continue to perform their roles well. Imelda Staunton was absolutely excellent as Umbridge, depicting the character as almost a manic mix of a smug Margaret Thatcher, a deranged Hyacinth Bucket and as obsessed with Minister of Magic as Anne Wilkes was of her favourite author in 'Misery'! In regards to the younger cast, Daniel Radcliffe continues to grow in his role. He still struggles a bit with Harry's darker emotions (in part, I believe, down to the fact that Radcliffe is more natural at comedy) but he is able to maintain the character's moodiness without making a mess. Emma Watson, unfortunately, remains in the 'over-acting' mode that left her performance in 'Goblet of Fire' so irritating. Someone needs to tell the girl to relax if she is to ever achieve a more natural performance. Rupert Grint definitely shines out. His laid-back, quiet nature works well in portraying Ron's loyalty to Harry and his determination to be there for his friends and family. New to the cast is Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood, who depicted the character's dreamy, head-in-the-clouds manner to a T. Of the young cast, she is the one who most accurately brings her character to life.
Michael Goldenberg, the scriptwriter who steps in Steve Kloves' shoes in the first change to the scriptwriting role since PS, does an excellent job and I wish he could have stayed on for 'Half-Blood Prince'. He quite rightly focused the film primarily on the lead character, rather than the trio as a team, since OotP is very much Harry's story where he feels alone in the world as he struggles to accept his destiny. I have a feeling Kloves, who very obviously favours Hermione, wouldn't have been able to achieve this in his zeal to give his favourite screen-time.
Goldenberg also provides mature dialogue, that reflects on the characters' British-ness, and scenes that allow the viewers to both empathise and feel exasperated with Harry's moods (he cut down the number of tantrums Harry has, which works better in order to retain sympathy for the character). He's also toned down the selfishness of Sirius Black compared to the book and the depth of hatred between Snape and Harry/the Marauders. In a way, I think this does work better for the film otherwise-- without access to Harry's thoughts-- we'd be left wondering why he even bothers himself with Black.
Also new to the production team is David Yates, as the director, and what a welcome change he is. Yates, whose previous projects are British television dramas, is not so entrenched in Hollywood and this is what these films desperately needed to give them a bit of class expected from a British franchise. Too much dumbing down and pandering to small children and the shallow masses, in an attempt to turn these films into popcorn blockbusters, are what have prevented them from becoming as great as they could have been.
I did think the film should have ended on the darker note of the book instead of trying to deliver hope when Harry was feeling no such thing. In the book, after everything he'd been through, Harry was shown to be at his lowest ebb and this depression to his character wasn't retained in the film. I also felt a certain someone's death could have been better reflected on; I don't think Harry's grief, shock, anger and despair was properly portrayed. I also didn't like the light-hearted music during the scenes where Umbridge is taking firm control of the school. Her actions are meant to cruel and constricting, not humorous.
Overall, I think OotP provides hope for the HP films yet (a series that will have to carry the burden of continuing the hype since the final book is released on 21/07/07, meaning the interest in the franchise could wane if things aren't done properly). For the first time, I came out quite satisfied that nothing too essential had been missed out nor had characters been greatly mis-handled. The only reason I still favour PoA is because it focused more on the adult characters, who I prefer. Nevertheless, OotP is an enjoyable film that shows that HP isn't for children anymore (please don't bring your toddler to this as they will either end up bored or traumatised) and this has to be reflected in the tone of the script, the depiction of the characters and in the performances of the young cast. Sadly, with Kloves back in the seat for HBP, it's hard to know whether this vein with be maintained (especially since he might not be able to resist the temptation of focusing on the romance and Hermione scenes to the detriment of the actual plot).