So disappointed - HPOTP Review

Rating: 10/10 (11 July 2007)

Okay, so I rarely write reviews for films on IMDb, but Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix really disappointed me. There are just so many flaws and so many things that should've been changed before the movie was actually shown in theaters worldwide. But before I start, I had excellent expectations on the 5th movie of the series. People said this was the "best Harry Potter yet", the one with the best performances by the ensemble cast. So I was really happy when I read all these great reviews. But I started worrying when A) the soundtrack was getting horrible criticism (and, in my opinion, the soundtrack is one of the most important parts of a movie) B) I read that the movie was 2 hours and 18 minutes long. I started thinking that maybe IMDb made a typo. Did it perhaps mean 3 hours and 18 minutes? I just forgot about the fact and went into the theater happy that I was about to see..."the best Harry Potter yet". Oh boy, how wrong was I. The movie started out with just the first 20 something notes to "Hedwig's Theme", the WB logo, and then the title logo. Okay, every movie has always begun like that. But then...everything was like a blur. The movie was just going so fast, at times I was afraid of blinking, thus losing a key scene of the film. So firstly, I'd say that the fact that this was the shortest movie made out of the longest HP book is a PROBLEM. Secondly, the actors. I mean: there is no character development in the movie. It's just one action after another. Hermione has always that stern, worried face. Ron has always a demented face. Harry is continuously mad. Seriously! Calm down people. This is a typical HP-movie dialogue. Hermione: "Harry you don't get it! You don't get it! You are in danger Harry! You must be careful! Bla BLA BLA" Harry: "Don't touch me! Don't touch ME!" (starts having convulsions) Ron: Incomprehensible boring babble. The movie completely loses the ambiance and the atmosphere that Rowling has so often emphasized in her books. Similarly, Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron, and Steven Kloves excelled in re-creating the magical world on screen. Mike Newell did an okay job. Yates did a terrible job. If it wasn't for the fact that just about the entire production crew has remained the same in years, Yates probably would not be directing HBP. It follows that it is probably Goldenberg's fault that so many interesting sub-plots have been lost in favor of a rapid, fast-forward creation. Special effects somewhat save the day. Together with Stuart Craig's production design - which, by the way, is so similar to what I had imagined. I guess we could say that, had it not been for him, the director would have had a rough time playing around with the camera and trying to recreate the same, suspenseful conclusion that Rowling had thought of (i.e. the prophecy room, the ending scene in the ministry). Also, great actors such as Bonham Carter, and Staunton, as well as the stellar cast, save the day (apart from the main three). Thanks to them, the movie has a reason to exist. And finally, what really did NOT save the day was the music. Nicholas Hooper should be fired right NOW after what he has written for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It all sounds so empty, so badly orchestrated, so...NOTHING. Hooper's score resembles an unoriginal trailer/production music rather than a proper HARRY POTTER score. You know, Patrick Doyle had nonetheless tried to emulate Williams thus producing an exceptional score, which could've somewhat applied to an HP movie. But Hooper. Seriously. Everything's just a mess. How could the guys at WB even let him SCORE the next film! Are they nuts!? Whether it is the movie that just seems so rushed. Whether it is the director that seems to constantly use the same camera movements (i.e. the camera passing through glass) Whether it is the WAY-TOO-LONG kiss between Cho and Harry which felt embarrassing rather than romantic. Whether it is the dreadful score. Whether it is the incompetent screenwriter. Whether it is this thing or that thing, the movie entertains, but fails to deliver what Rowling had in mind. I'll buy it on DVD and keep it in my Harry Potter collection, hoping that some day, I'll have better opinions of it. But do not expect me to clap and cheer for Yates. I'm seriously thinking of creating a petition so that he does NOT return for the Half-Blood Prince. Watch it if you're going to go inside the theater with low expectations. Do not watch it if you hope to see the "BEST HARRY POTTER YET". Watch it if you want brainless fun, if you want a movie with suspense, comedy, drama, horror?, fantasy, etc. Do not watch it if you want a slightly more serious film, a better recreation of the Harry Potter world on the silver screen. A rushed-through film that should have been saved from the hands of the editors. What a let down. A fun let down. But still a let down.
(ps. The most boring credits in a HP film. At least Columbus' ones were clean, white on black credits. And What's with the CLICHé rotating newspapers!!) (pps. BRING - JOHN - WILLIAMS - BACK!!)