 "Photo:")
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" Warner Bros. Pictures Directed by David Yates Written by Michael Goldenberg, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman and Imelda Staunton Rated PG-13/138 minutes Opened July 11, 2007 Three-and-a-half out of four stars
The novel Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix always got a bum rap for being "the-one-in-which-nothing-much-happens" or "the-one-in-which-Harry-is-an-angry-twerp." You might say a better title for J.K. Rowling's fifth would be Harry Potter and His Whiny, Emo Attitude. (Hey, he's got the dark bangs for it. All he needs to do now is put on a pair of Hermione's pants.)
"No one understands me!" Harry shouts as he experiences strange new feelings such as crushing on girls and grinding his teeth, as condescending adults fail to take him seriously. Anyone who's older than 18 can relate -- we've all been through that humiliating, oh-so-vulnerable stage of life that plays out in the fiery pits of junior high and high school, when our battles are as much interior as they are exterior.
And that's where I think people misunderstand Order of the Phoenix. While the story doesn't seem to move forward physically (an obstinate Ministry of Magic, intent on keeping Harry in his place, puts up sturdy walls when he tries to warn the world of Voldemort's return), progress is made on a more character-based front. Most of the drama happens inside of Harry and his friends as they struggle with who they are and how the outside world perceives their identities. What more is there to do than brood when the world isn't ready to listen to you?
Director David Yates faithfully ports this pouting 'tude over to the movie. Although it doesn't quite reach the visually astounding levels of "The Prisoner of Azkaban," it is still rich with sumptuous sights (the Department of Mysteries, with its towering shelves of crystal ball prophesies, is like the dark, cavernous stock room of a sinister snow globe factory) and engaging characters, returning and new.
Imelda Staunton is deliciously devilish as Dolores Umbridge, the new ministry-assigned "Defense Against the Dark Arts" teacher. Her pink wardrobe and girlish, giggly nastiness is like a squirt of stinging perfume to the eyes. She's a great villainess, overshadowing even Voldemort in irritancy, if not ugliness.
Daniel Radcliffe's acting abilities are becoming as deep and refined as his burgeoning cheekbones. Gary Oldman also makes a lasting impression as Harry's heroic godfather, Sirius Black. The emotional bond between these two is very important, as anyone who has read the book well knows.
What the movie "Order of the Phoenix" gets especially right is Harry's dawning realization of what a family can be outside of the normal definition. While his mum and dad might have fallen by the wand of Voldemort, Harry will always have a family in the friends, teachers and house elves that love him and will sacrifice everything for him.
"I know what we have that Voldemort doesn't," Harry says to his loyal pals. "Something to fight for."
