Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Rating: 6/10 (11 July 2007)

Watching young actors grow up during a very successful franchise is enjoyable to watch I think. Not only are they maturing physically, but you can tell at times that their acting is maturing as well. And although these kids have been doing it for six years, it seems as though they're still having fun with the characters they play. The same goes for the older generation of actors, but instead of growing up, they're the "type-casting" game. With two movies left to go and all three of the main children signed up to film them, will the older actors sign as well? Or will they decide to move onto something new before they're forever known as Severus Snape or Minerva McGonagall? Having said that, I believe the characters are pretty much the only interesting part about the film itself. The film moves slow at first, but picks up near the middle when all the pieces begin to come together. Unfortunately, the puzzle doesn't seem quite finished when all is said and done. However, it is only the fifth film in the series of seven and it begins to look more like the beginning of a trilogy than septilogy (yes, that's a series of seven), so pieces are left out to be explained in the next film and, hopefully, wrapped completely by the end of movie number seven.
What's nice about the Harry Potter franchise is that it drops you in right at the beginning assuming you've seen the previous films, so they don't have to explain what has previously happened. The transitions, though, seem choppy and you are sometimes forced to understand how characters get from one place to another with no explanation from the script. The pace itself though, was nice and I don't think there was ever a scene that didn't interrupt the story's flow. David Yates, first time director to the series and first blockbuster, brought an interesting take to the film. With very little close-ups and panoramic visions, Yates continues to stabilize what the previous directors had already established.
Overall, "Order of the Phoenix" is a nice segue into what is leading up to a certain, and possibly extraordinary, finale. In these next two films, I'm sure "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" will prove a worthy adversary for our main protagonists, but for now, we, as the audience, will need to see them mature enough to be able to carry the story the rest of the way.
Review by Glenn D. Harvey