Caught this last night with a group of friends. First off, I haven’t read the books yet. I’ve been meaning to but never got around to it. So why is that important? Well, if you’ve read the books, then you’ll hate this film or at least feel disappointed. If you’re someone like me, blissfully ignorant to Harry Potter lore, then you’ll have a blast.  

It seems that the director took several liberties while adapting this particular book. Apparently there is tons important content missing from the film. Something about missing rooms from the Department of Mysteries and characters being downsized-- Whatever, this movie was awesome.

I heard that this was the longest book and that it was then translated into the shortest of the Potter movies. That might be true, but it certainly didn’t feel that way.

As usual, the visuals are amazing. The thought of grown men waving wands at each other in an epic battle might seemed stupid at first. But director David Yates really made it work.

Also, the acting has really improved. Radcliffe and crew are really developing into talented actors. I still hate the old dude that plays Dumbledore but Alan Rickman makes up for any shortcomings caused by other actors.

So overall, this was a solid installment in an very entertaining franchise.

4/5

I really liked this one as well. It's a darker, more emotional, more complete story than the other movies. David Yates has crafted an excellent Potter movie, and I'm glad he's coming back for the sixth movie. The effects were fantastic. The climax inside the Ministry of Magic was a real eye-opener, some of the best work the franchise has ever seen, in my opinion. Not only in terms of visuals, but in terms of the emotions at play. Like the ending of Goblet of Fire, the producers and writers haven't sugar-coated anything. Harry faces a tremendous loss at the end of this movie, and the filmmakers allow us to feel it as much as he does.

The performances were also the best in the franchise. Gary Oldman and Imelda Staunton were the stand-outs in this film, bringing comedy, vitality and emotion to the movie with their respective characters. Ralph Fiennes, while he once again only shows up briefly toward the end, was once again fantastic was Voldemort. He's shaping up to be a fantastic villain. My only gripe is with the character of Bellatrix Lestrange, played wonderfully by Helena Bonham Carter. She really felt underused in this film. It's been a while since I've read the book, but I seem to remember her having a larger part. Either way, I hope they use more of her in the sixth film because she looked completely, totally insane.

As a side not, why is everyone making such a fuss over the kissing scene? Boys kiss girls, it's what happens. Harry's fifteen years old, he's handsome and he's sort of famous, it wouldn't be realistic if he wasn't maccing on some babes. Still, there was a collective groan in the cinema when their lips met. I say, go for it, son. He's saved the world how many times now? He's due for a little action. Although the romance between Harry and Cho Chang was severly downsized (there was a whole chapter in the book entirely about their first date) I still liked the scene quite a bit. I think it worked.

Overall, a solid flick. There is plenty to enjoy for all ages. The critics have said that Harry Potter has some lost of his magic. They're wrong, as critics tend to be. It's still fast, fresh, funny and packed with originality the likes of which haven't been seen since Star Wars. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a must see for Potheads (yeah, I said it, what of it?) and an enjoyable popcorn flick for those of us who really aren't.


Matt.

I haven't gotten around to checking this one out yet, but someone told me that the Imax version had 3-D parts in it.  They were given plastic glasses and put them on during certain scenes.  Does anyone know if that was just the IMAX version?  That sounded cool,...

Yeah it only in the Imax version, my friend saw it in Imax with the 3-D and said it was pretty awesome. As for the movie itself I thought it was really good but it need another twenty minutes for it to be great, I'd rank it under Goblet of Fire and Azkaban.

I have recently watched all five movies and as much as I loved these films I felt them dry of emotion. I got more emotion out of Bad Boys than I did these films.

That is the only weak point to the movies for me.

Action, comedy, adventure and drama but no emotion.

That is my opinion and everyone has a different opinion. However, I recommend this film if you like fantasy.

Quoted from Nixon Caught this last night with a group of friends. First off, I haven’t read the books yet. I’ve been meaning to but never got around to it. So why is that important? Well, if you’ve read the books, then you’ll hate this film or at least feel disappointed. If you’re someone like me, blissfully ignorant to Harry Potter lore, then you’ll have a blast.   It seems that the director took several liberties while adapting this particular book. Apparently there is tons important content missing from the film. Something about missing rooms from the Department of Mysteries and characters being downsized-- Whatever, this movie was awesome. I heard that this was the longest book and that it was then translated into the shortest of the Potter movies. That might be true, but it certainly didn’t feel that way. As usual, the visuals are amazing. The thought of grown men waving wands at each other in an epic battle might seemed stupid at first. But director David Yates really made it work. Also, the acting has really improved. Radcliffe and crew are really developing into talented actors. I still hate the old dude that plays Dumbledore but Alan Rickman makes up for any shortcomings caused by other actors. So overall, this was a solid installment in an very entertaining franchise. 4/5

Nixon, your comment here is very worthwhile to note in that film cannot substitute for "the book". It's always very different in the sense that it's limited by time constraints.

I've read the books and I do know that the adaptation for screen has to have the process of cutting certain material (silly me - lots of material) out. Those are often hard decisions to make with such wonderfully thick material, but that's just the way it is.

I'm glad you did enjoy the movies, but yes, as you've said, they're very different than the books.

Sandra

I have both read all the Harry Potter books, and watched all the films, and loved them both.  Of course they cut a great deal, and or condensed the books to make the films.  It's a shame, but it has to be done to meet the medium's requirements.  I felt the Harry Potter films have done a really good job of 'doing it right', to complete the stories.

Now, if we do want to talk lack of emotion in a movie adaptation, I'd say The Lord of the Ring's movies were terrible for this.  I couldn't even watch them, because they failed to even make me care about what happened to the characters.  That was sad to me, because I loved the books and really looked forward to the films.