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ladynorbertMy unspoilery review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a very simple one:
That movie was basically carved out of one GIANT BLOCK OF AWESOME.
There was quite literally NOTHING about the movie that I didn't like. The performances were stellar. Gary Oldman was actually hot (something I've never thought before). Evanna Lynch, the girl who never acted before and suddenly landed the part of Luna, is frighteningly perfect, as is Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix. Lucius Malfoy is deliciously evil again; as I said to Kevin, "Jason Isaacs was terrific, but that's like saying water is wet." Imelda Staunton is a wonderful Umbridge, who is quite possibly my least favorite character in all of literature (in the sense that I love to hate her). There is blatant Ron/Hermioneness, which made me squee. The effects are fantastic.
Also, I seem to have a small girl-crush on Tonks. If that is weird for you to read, believe me, it's a lot weirder for me to say, as it's an entirely new phenomenon. But she is all kinds of brilliant.
I do have some spoiler-laden thoughts, but those will go under the judicious cut. And to further assist those of you who want to be kept spoiler-free, but would like to read any comments left on my post, I will turn the font under the cut white. (That at least will help you if the entry shows up in my journal style; if they show up in your own style and it's a different color, it's not going to do you much good.)
Highlight the rest if you would like my thoughts on some specific aspects of the film.
The filmmakers make very effective use of The Daily Prophet in order to minimize exposition between important scenes. It's a great tactic and it works beautifully; you fully get the impact of the sensation that the wizarding world has turned on Harry and Dumbledore without having to be shown every instance. It's just enough, and meanwhile, they could spend more time on more essential bits.
They made Kingsley Shacklebolt a kind of African character. This surprised me, although not in a bad way; the guy who played him was good. It's just that in my head, Kingsley Shacklebolt has always been Samuel L. Jackson -- and wouldn't THAT have been a fabulous addition to the cast?
The scene in which Moody, Kingsley, Tonks, Lupin, and the unnamed other Order member (there were more than that in the book, so it's hard to know which one she was supposed to be) collect Harry from Privet Drive is glorious. The scenes of them flying low over the Thames past a brilliantly lit Palace of Westminster (I hope I'm identifying that correctly) is just...as I said to Kevin, "That scene alone was worth the two years of waiting."
There is no Quidditch whatsoever. But you know, what there is of the story is SO GOOD that I didn't even realize it until we were on our way home. This was disappointing only in the sense that we miss out on "Weasley Is Our King." (The matter of Ron and Hermione being made prefects is also snipped.)
However, the loss of "Weasley Is Our King" is abundantly made up for with the Grawp scene. Hagrid's little half-brother is shown as basically an oversized child. Ron (who is there for the introduction, unlike in the book) flips the hell out when Grawp seizes Hermione and holds her up for a better look. It's so cute to see him grab a thick branch and yell "Let go of her!" It's also funny to see his face when he breaks the branch on Grawp's leg and Grawp doesn't even flinch. And then when Hermione is back on the ground, Ron yells "You just stay away from her!" It's adorable. You don't mess with Ron Weasley's girl. There were a number of R/H incidents, as I said, but that was the most straightforward and it just made me beam.
An interesting change is the removal of the character of Marietta Edgecombe, who readers of the book will remember as the one who betrayed Dumbledore's Army to Umbridge. Instead, the betrayal was done by Cho. At least the movie doesn't end without the heroes finding out that she only revealed their hiding place while under the influence of Veritaserum. It made sense to do it that way, really, because it saved the need to introduce another character and pretty effectively busted up Cho and Harry's brief relationship without any additional drama.
There is one thing that was removed which I thought should not have been, and that was the angle regarding Percy Weasley. Until a scene where Percy is actually present, assisting the Minister of Magic (and speaking no lines whatsoever), I didn't realize that they never explained his defection from the family. I think they could have devoted a couple of minutes to bringing Harry up to speed on that situation. But that's really my only complaint.
Final thought: About nine people in the theater (myself included) shouted "YES!" when Sirius suckerpunched Lucius Malfoy in the Department of Mysteries. Kevin's comment afterward was "That just MADE the movie!"
So. Yes. Wanna see it again. It's the best one yet.
That movie was basically carved out of one GIANT BLOCK OF AWESOME.
There was quite literally NOTHING about the movie that I didn't like. The performances were stellar. Gary Oldman was actually hot (something I've never thought before). Evanna Lynch, the girl who never acted before and suddenly landed the part of Luna, is frighteningly perfect, as is Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix. Lucius Malfoy is deliciously evil again; as I said to Kevin, "Jason Isaacs was terrific, but that's like saying water is wet." Imelda Staunton is a wonderful Umbridge, who is quite possibly my least favorite character in all of literature (in the sense that I love to hate her). There is blatant Ron/Hermioneness, which made me squee. The effects are fantastic.
Also, I seem to have a small girl-crush on Tonks. If that is weird for you to read, believe me, it's a lot weirder for me to say, as it's an entirely new phenomenon. But she is all kinds of brilliant.
I do have some spoiler-laden thoughts, but those will go under the judicious cut. And to further assist those of you who want to be kept spoiler-free, but would like to read any comments left on my post, I will turn the font under the cut white. (That at least will help you if the entry shows up in my journal style; if they show up in your own style and it's a different color, it's not going to do you much good.)
Highlight the rest if you would like my thoughts on some specific aspects of the film.
The filmmakers make very effective use of The Daily Prophet in order to minimize exposition between important scenes. It's a great tactic and it works beautifully; you fully get the impact of the sensation that the wizarding world has turned on Harry and Dumbledore without having to be shown every instance. It's just enough, and meanwhile, they could spend more time on more essential bits.
They made Kingsley Shacklebolt a kind of African character. This surprised me, although not in a bad way; the guy who played him was good. It's just that in my head, Kingsley Shacklebolt has always been Samuel L. Jackson -- and wouldn't THAT have been a fabulous addition to the cast?
The scene in which Moody, Kingsley, Tonks, Lupin, and the unnamed other Order member (there were more than that in the book, so it's hard to know which one she was supposed to be) collect Harry from Privet Drive is glorious. The scenes of them flying low over the Thames past a brilliantly lit Palace of Westminster (I hope I'm identifying that correctly) is just...as I said to Kevin, "That scene alone was worth the two years of waiting."
There is no Quidditch whatsoever. But you know, what there is of the story is SO GOOD that I didn't even realize it until we were on our way home. This was disappointing only in the sense that we miss out on "Weasley Is Our King." (The matter of Ron and Hermione being made prefects is also snipped.)
However, the loss of "Weasley Is Our King" is abundantly made up for with the Grawp scene. Hagrid's little half-brother is shown as basically an oversized child. Ron (who is there for the introduction, unlike in the book) flips the hell out when Grawp seizes Hermione and holds her up for a better look. It's so cute to see him grab a thick branch and yell "Let go of her!" It's also funny to see his face when he breaks the branch on Grawp's leg and Grawp doesn't even flinch. And then when Hermione is back on the ground, Ron yells "You just stay away from her!" It's adorable. You don't mess with Ron Weasley's girl. There were a number of R/H incidents, as I said, but that was the most straightforward and it just made me beam.
An interesting change is the removal of the character of Marietta Edgecombe, who readers of the book will remember as the one who betrayed Dumbledore's Army to Umbridge. Instead, the betrayal was done by Cho. At least the movie doesn't end without the heroes finding out that she only revealed their hiding place while under the influence of Veritaserum. It made sense to do it that way, really, because it saved the need to introduce another character and pretty effectively busted up Cho and Harry's brief relationship without any additional drama.
There is one thing that was removed which I thought should not have been, and that was the angle regarding Percy Weasley. Until a scene where Percy is actually present, assisting the Minister of Magic (and speaking no lines whatsoever), I didn't realize that they never explained his defection from the family. I think they could have devoted a couple of minutes to bringing Harry up to speed on that situation. But that's really my only complaint.
Final thought: About nine people in the theater (myself included) shouted "YES!" when Sirius suckerpunched Lucius Malfoy in the Department of Mysteries. Kevin's comment afterward was "That just MADE the movie!"
So. Yes. Wanna see it again. It's the best one yet.
