Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

***Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix*** is a 2007 fantasy film directed by David Yates and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on J. K. Rowling's 2003 novel of the same name. The fifth instalment in the *Harry Potter* film series, it was written by Michael Goldenberg (making this the only film in the series not to be scripted by Steve Kloves) and produced by David Heyman and David Barron. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Its story follows Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as the Ministry of Magic is in denial of Lord Voldemort's return. The film is the sequel to *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire* (2005) and is followed by *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince* (2009).

The film's budget was reportedly between £75 and 100 million ($150–200 million). Warner Bros. released the film in North America on 11 July 2007 and in the United Kingdom on 12 July, both in conventional and IMAX theatres; it is the first *Potter* film to be released in IMAX 3D.

*Order of the Phoenix* opened to a worldwide five-day opening of $333 million and grossed $942 million total, making it the second highest-grossing film of 2007. The film was nominated for two BAFTA Film Awards in 2008. It has been noted as a case of Hollywood accounting, as Warner Bros. claimed the film lost $167 million, despite its total gross.

## Plot

Now in his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) learns that many in the wizarding community do not know the truth of his encounter with Lord Voldemort. Cornelius Fudge, minister of Magic, appoints his toady, Dolores Umbridge, as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, for he fears that professor Dumbledore will take his job. But her teaching is deficient and her methods, cruel, so Harry prepares a group of students to defend the school against a rising tide of evil.

## Why It Gets to the Order of the Phoenix

1. This is the first movie in the franchise that focuses more on the characters and their growth than the worldbuilding.
2. Awesome direction from David Yates, who will then become the main director of the rest of the franchise. Mainly in the action sequences.
3. Despite the tone being darker than in previous films, there are still plenty of lighthearted, heartfelt, and funny moments.
4. Great performances from the cast; especially Daniel Radcliffe, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, and Imelda Stauton.
	* Radcliffe in particular gives his best performance as in the franchise yet.
5. Harry goes through a **major** character development throughout the movie: At first he isolates himself and feels alone, to the point where he begins to fear that he's becoming like Voldemort; but as the story goes by and assumes a leader role, he starts to believe more in the power of love and friendship.
	* This leads to the emotional and heartbreaking moment nearby the end in which he remembers each of his best and worst moments of his life.
6. The film explores the theme of union and friendship well: While training the Dumbledore's army, Harry begins to trust and gain more friends like Neville, Luna and Ginny and not just Ron and Hermione, and begins to realize that he's not alone in the fight and can count on them.
7. In that particular topic, this film also gave some of the side characters their time to shine:
	* Neville is the best example. This movie develops his character a lot and gives him a proper arc; we see how he goes from a shy bullied guy to a more confident and braver person, which ultimately leads to his heroic action in *Deathly Hallows: Part 2.* There's also this very sad moment in which he and Harry talk about how they lost their parents.
	* Ginny is shown more as a confident and brave person, rather than simply being Ron's sister.
	* Luna, who's undoubtedly a fan-favorite, shows a lot of empathy and care for Harry, and the movie did a good job having them bond together as friends.
		+ Not to mention that Evanna Lynch was perfectly cast as her, and really gives off the character's cool, tender, and quirky vibes and personality.
		+ Many fans consider that the change of her being the one who introduces Harry to the thestrals was a good touch.
8. A great setting for the visual construction of Hogwarts castle, the Room of Requirement, and the Ministry of Magic.
9. The new locations are very well designed and memorable, such as the Ministry of Magic or the Hall of Prophecy.
10. The battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort towards the end is downright epic, and is considered to be one of the best sequences in the saga.
11. Likewise, the battle between Dumbledore's army and then the Order of the Phoenix against the Death Eaters is also pretty intense, and gives a glimpse at what magical warfare looks like.
12. The films takes excellent advantage of the "*Show and Don't Tell*" practice: Rather than explaining everything with exposition, it's throughout montages, the characters emotions, and little dialogue.
	* Another example is how, in the movie, Harry and his friends discover the lost prophecy before it's destroyed with leaves Harry trying to come terms with it ("*Neither can live while the other survives*"). While in the book, the prophecy is destroyed first and Dumbledore later explains it to Harry.
13. The editing is fantastic.
14. Beautiful cinematography.
15. The soundtrack is excellent.
16. The film has a good balance between the drama, the comedy, the dark elements, and the fantasy elements. All without having to shoehorn them into the other.
17. We get to see some of Snape's past, which explains why he seems to have some kind of bias towards Harry, and especially his father.
18. Many memorable quotes, such as:
	* *"Nice one James!"*
	* *"It was foolish of you to come here tonight, Tom"*
	* *"I must not tell lies"*
19. Sirius' death is heartbreaking and the reaction Harry has along with the fact that there's no noise other then snippets of Harry sobbing doesn't help. In fact, they decided to mute his scream because they thought it was too harrowing to heard.
20. One of the two main antagonists, Dolores Umbridge, was designed to be as absolutely detestable as possible, and the film does a good job at fulfilling that. Imelda Staunton also does a great job at bringing the character to life.
21. Like the previous film, this film is rated PG-13, and its still handled very well for the most part.