Reviews

Movie Review: Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix
Jenna Hathaway

I'm pretty sure that by now, almost everybody has seen the movie, but it's never too late to write a review about it, right?

Well, to start off, let me just say that not only am I a major book fan, but I'm also quite a perfectionist, which means this review is probably going to have more criticisms than praises. So I'd like to quickly state a disclaimer here that everything in this article is solely my opinion, and not necessarily what most people think about the movie.

Having said that, let me begin with how the movie seemed to me as a whole. It did seem like it was rushed to me, but hey, the book is thicker than your average encyclopedia, so you can't really blame the director, right? I think David Yates managed to squeeze as many important scenes as possible into a 2-hour-and-18-minutes-long movie. If you asked me, though, he could've made it at least 2 and a half hours, or even 3 hours; Lord of the Rings was 3 hours and still became a blast. If the transitions had been done a little bit more smoothly, it would have helped. All the jumping from one scene to the next meant that you'd have a hard time following the plot if you didn't know what was going on.

Now on to the actors. I think some of them have definitely improved from the first movies, and have become so much like their characters that it's practically impossible (for me, at least) to read the seventh book without picturing the actors as the characters. However, I felt like Evanna Lynch, the actress who portrayed Luna, was missing something. I'm not sure what, because a lot of people thought she fit the part perfectly. I just didn't think she grasped the concept of Luna completely. Either she was too pretty, or not gloomy enough, or not weird enough (I barely noticed the accessories); I don't know, but there's definitely something missing for me. The actresses who played Umbridge and Bellatrix, on the other hand, I thought were great. I managed to feel the same feeling of hatred towards them as I did while reading the book. Other things involving the actors that disturbed me were the fact that they bothered to cast several unnamed characters that were in the DA, that seemed like they couldn't be found in the book, but they didn't bother casting a Marietta Edgecombe, who's supposed to be blamed for the whole DA secret getting out. Instead, they decided that Cho Chang would be the one who told Umbridge about it (granted, under the influence of Veritaserum), which, I figured, became the reason why she and Harry broke up.

Also, details, details! They had Levicorpus as one of the spells practiced in DA, but that spell wasn't even supposed to be found until the next book (Half-Blood Prince). That one really got to me. It was a simple mistake that could've been easily avoided, had they paid more attention, and not including it would've saved them the cost of some levitation effects too! Some people were annoyed because Sirius was killed with the wrong curse, didn't even fall through the veil, and the whole scene was a bit rushed. On the other hand, I felt that Harry and Cho's kiss scene lasted longer than necessary. Those points aside, I did like the portrayal of the Ministry of Magic. It all looked so grand and wide and just appropriate. I suppose the visual effects were great, especially in the last fight. The fight itself, however, felt a bit rushed, and when they all came out bruised and battered at the end, it made me wonder what exactly happened to them, because it seemed like there was almost no fight. Finally, the prophecy. It was supposed to make a great impact, a very important point in the book, but as far as I could remember, it barely got any attention in the movie after the fight ended.

I could probably look for more stuff to pick on, but I think I've written enough for now. I did like the movie, but it was not amazing for me. I generally feel the same way about all movies adapted from books though, so who knows, everyone else might love it. However, it might be a good idea not to re-read the book before watching, if you haven't watched the movie yet. Trust me, it will only make you find more mistakes and thus be unable to enjoy the movie. All in all, this is a good movie, though, surprisingly enough, it's the shortest, while the book is by far the longest out of all seven. Let's hope the next movies are even better. Two more to go!

Notes

Articles

Scientifics

Reviews

Columns

Showcase

Puzzles

Info

Points

Reviews




Notes The Alte Sententiam is Ravenclaw's running newspaper. Alte Sententiam means 'Higher Thoughts' and its current co-editors-in-chief are Chloe Fairchilde and Cassandra Lobiesk. Articles Unity: Making the Most of HOL Easton's Everyday Eats Scientifics Stone Into Gold Why is the Sky Blue? Reviews The Deathly Hallows Order of the Phoenix Hana Kimi Columns Cassie's Cranky Corner Addie-vice Column Showcase For Thee Golden Rule Days Sorting Hat Song Puzzles Wordsearch Info Updates Archives FAQ Staff The Roost HOL Points The points breakdown is as follows (per issue): Article Submission: 10 points for each published (not to exceed 20) Graphics Submission: 10 points for each published (not to exceed 20) Editors: Up to 30 points	Reviews Movie Review: Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix Jenna Hathaway I'm pretty sure that by now, almost everybody has seen the movie, but it's never too late to write a review about it, right? Well, to start off, let me just say that not only am I a major book fan, but I'm also quite a perfectionist, which means this review is probably going to have more criticisms than praises. So I'd like to quickly state a disclaimer here that everything in this article is solely my opinion, and not necessarily what most people think about the movie. Having said that, let me begin with how the movie seemed to me as a whole. It did seem like it was rushed to me, but hey, the book is thicker than your average encyclopedia, so you can't really blame the director, right? I think David Yates managed to squeeze as many important scenes as possible into a 2-hour-and-18-minutes-long movie. If you asked me, though, he could've made it at least 2 and a half hours, or even 3 hours; Lord of the Rings was 3 hours and still became a blast. If the transitions had been done a little bit more smoothly, it would have helped. All the jumping from one scene to the next meant that you'd have a hard time following the plot if you didn't know what was going on. Now on to the actors. I think some of them have definitely improved from the first movies, and have become so much like their characters that it's practically impossible (for me, at least) to read the seventh book without picturing the actors as the characters. However, I felt like Evanna Lynch, the actress who portrayed Luna, was missing something. I'm not sure what, because a lot of people thought she fit the part perfectly. I just didn't think she grasped the concept of Luna completely. Either she was too pretty, or not gloomy enough, or not weird enough (I barely noticed the accessories); I don't know, but there's definitely something missing for me. The actresses who played Umbridge and Bellatrix, on the other hand, I thought were great. I managed to feel the same feeling of hatred towards them as I did while reading the book. Other things involving the actors that disturbed me were the fact that they bothered to cast several unnamed characters that were in the DA, that seemed like they couldn't be found in the book, but they didn't bother casting a Marietta Edgecombe, who's supposed to be blamed for the whole DA secret getting out. Instead, they decided that Cho Chang would be the one who told Umbridge about it (granted, under the influence of Veritaserum), which, I figured, became the reason why she and Harry broke up. Also, details, details! They had Levicorpus as one of the spells practiced in DA, but that spell wasn't even supposed to be found until the next book (Half-Blood Prince). That one really got to me. It was a simple mistake that could've been easily avoided, had they paid more attention, and not including it would've saved them the cost of some levitation effects too! Some people were annoyed because Sirius was killed with the wrong curse, didn't even fall through the veil, and the whole scene was a bit rushed. On the other hand, I felt that Harry and Cho's kiss scene lasted longer than necessary. Those points aside, I did like the portrayal of the Ministry of Magic. It all looked so grand and wide and just appropriate. I suppose the visual effects were great, especially in the last fight. The fight itself, however, felt a bit rushed, and when they all came out bruised and battered at the end, it made me wonder what exactly happened to them, because it seemed like there was almost no fight. Finally, the prophecy. It was supposed to make a great impact, a very important point in the book, but as far as I could remember, it barely got any attention in the movie after the fight ended. I could probably look for more stuff to pick on, but I think I've written enough for now. I did like the movie, but it was not amazing for me. I generally feel the same way about all movies adapted from books though, so who knows, everyone else might love it. However, it might be a good idea not to re-read the book before watching, if you haven't watched the movie yet. Trust me, it will only make you find more mistakes and thus be unable to enjoy the movie. All in all, this is a good movie, though, surprisingly enough, it's the shortest, while the book is by far the longest out of all seven. Let's hope the next movies are even better. Two more to go!