One of the best HP films

Rating: 9/10 (10 April 2012)

It's the fifth installment of Harry Potter, and the characters are well into their teens. The fourth and final director David Yates has taken over, and brings even more changes.
Harry is still reeling from witnessing Voldemort's resurrection and Cedric's murder in the summer, when out of nowhere, dementors attacks him and Dudley. Harry casts a patronus to defend them and takes his dazed cousin home, only to immediately receive a letter saying he has been expelled from Hogwarts for performing underage magic. But that night Harry is rescued by the Order of the Phoenix, a society Dumbledore founded to fight Voldemort. They fly off to the headquarters at Sirius' house, where he is met by the rest of the Order. A trial is held to determine whether or not Harry should be allowed back into Hogwarts, and after the ministry decides to let him back everyone goes back to school. The already distraught Harry is suddenly an outcast, as the ministry is calling Voldemort's resurrection a hoax, and Harry a liar. Lonely and depressed, Harry finds solace in his new friend Luna (Evanna Lynch), an eccentric girl often bullied by other students. Things get more difficult when we meet their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Stauton). Umbridge has been appointed by the Ministry to keep an eye on Dumbledore and enforce the propaganda that Voldemort's return is a lie. Naturally this doesn't set very well with Harry, especially since Umbridge refuses to teach any defensive magic, in favor of theories. After Umbridge manages to take over Hogwarts and enforce excessive rules with painful punishments, Harry, Ron and Hermione develop a secret defensive magic club coined "Dumbledore's Army", or "the DA". Several students join, including Luna, Ginny, Neville (Matthew Lewis) and Harry's love interest Cho Chang (Katie Leung). When there is a jail break at Azkaban and Harry's visions of Voldemort's actions and emotions get more intense, he knows what he must do. Together with Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna, Harry goes to the front lines to fight Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
This is one of my favorite HP movies. I like the tone, colors, acting and characters (or rather emphasis on certain characters). Yates' direction is much more emotionally motivated, and Harry's pain and struggles are palpable. We get a very good depiction of Harry's new loving relationship with Sirius, as his desire for a father is finally being satisfied. That being said, Sirius' death was absolutely devastating, and it's hard not to cry when you watch Harry's silent scream. The fight scenes in the ministry were pretty awesome, and probably my favorite part of this film. As for the characters, we get a deeper look at Neville. In previous films Neville was just the clumsy, chubby kid who the Slytherins picked on. In this film we see Neville's courage and determination, as well as learn more about his painful past—and how it is a parallel to Harry's. Evanna Lynch as Luna can only be described in one word: perfect! She is strange, sweet, clever, and has a perfect voice for the role. Helena Bonham Carter is equally perfect for the role of Bellatrix Lestrange. She is crazy, volatile, evil and twisted. Katie Leung isokay. She was in Goblet of Fire as well, but I never found her character that interesting or likable. Imelda Stauton does a great job as Umbridge, and while not hideously ugly like in the book, Staunton gives a creepier aspect to this character with her sickeningly sweet performance. I also enjoyed the look into Snape's past, and the audience's realization that Harry's dad was quite a jerk as a teen, and his bullying of Snape is why he resents Harry so much. This film is establishing the connection between Harry and Voldemort, setting it up the next three films. While he brought a lot of great things to this series, Yates has made some visual changes that make the films look very inconsistent. One change that irritated me is Sirius in his dog form was a Scottish Deerhound, as opposed to the black wolf-like dog in the third film (and described in the book). He also changed the garb of the Death Eaters, forfeiting Newell's pointed hoods and skull eye masks for simpler hoods and full faced metallic masks. While many disagree I did like Newell's wardrobe better, especially since it felt reminiscent of KKK hoods and the skull masks reflected the "death" aspect of the Death Eaters. The film also left out some details, especially about the Ministry, but nothing too damaging to the plot. But these complaints are just nit-picks. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is one of the best Harry Potter films, and a strong comeback from the fourth.