 |  |
Spoiler Points for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) [PG-13] 138 minutes
If you would like to see a complete review (without spoilers) and / or cast list and other details, etc., please click here.
Please click here to read the special comments on the IMAX® 3D version of the film.
Note: Spoiler Points are Places for Fans also to express their feelings on the movie, help answer each other's questions, ask me to do some research for them (short of reading the book of course), etc. It can also be useful for those who have read the book to fill in some of the missing gaps from the film. The forum is moderated which means that nothing inflammatory nor derogatory, prejudicial, etc. will be posted.
First a parental / guardian warning. The film is rated [PG-13] by the MPAA. It is dark and has some very scary parts. I would advise caution in taking children under 13 to see this film. Like the last couple, it has some very intense, dark, and scary parts. There is a sense of near constant dread, as well, in this film, so use caution with younger children, please.
So, five minutes into the film, Harry must defend an attack by Dementors against himself and Dudley Dursley. Later, we find out, we think that Lord Voldemort must be behind this, but the film never actually states this to be a fact. It could, just as easily been ordered by the Ministry under the leadership of Cornelius Fudge.
After Harry is found not-guilty by the Ministry of using magic underage and in front of a muggle when he saved Dudley and himself from the attack due to a surprise visit from Dumbledore serving as his trial advocate, there are some mentions as to this whole process being corrupt and unnecessary. So, then why'd they do it? Why did they try Harry for this? Why if the ministry was able to find out somehow that he used magic and in front of a muggle, were they unwilling to believe that it was to stave off an attack by dementors? How good is their data collection if they couldn't find out the more important details in the first place?
What's with all the creepy mystery surrounding the Order of the Phoenix? One has to assume, again this is far more well explained in the book, but wouldn't it have been better to spend more time on this in the film than the hour on the takeover of Hogwarts by Dolores Umbridge? How many of those decrees did we see get posted anyway? It seemed like 20.
Thank goodness, this time around, the Weasley twin brothers get a lot more of a role and provide what little comic relief there is present in the film. Selling their chocolates that make you look sick so you can get out of school and then their broom ride through the OWL examination hall with cool fireworks were the only real bright spots in the picture.
What's with this Luna character? Her high pitched voice, her mysterious ways, the creatures only she and Harry can see, but everyone seems to be able to ride on their night flight back to London? Probably makes perfect sense in the book, but in the movie, her character just adds to list of "what's going on and why".
How come there was no apology to Cho Chang (Katie Leung) after it was revealed that she was given truth serum to force out the location of the hidden room and the Dumbledore Army? There was enough time for the kids to walk Dolores way out into the forest to meet her fate with the centaurs and the giant! Speaking of this entire part…huh? I'm still scratching my head about it.
The return of Hagrid was pointless. He's a beloved character, but the role of the giant half brother etc. was not meaningful in the film. If the point was cut down and kept only as a device to get rid of Dolores Umbridge, how about, instead just having one of the decree plaques fall on her head! This would have left more time for the climax.
With all due respect to the climax, first of all, the room of prophecy orbs was too mysterious for people who have not read the books. The screenwriter must take this into account. So, this giant room etc. with all these orbs, etc. and the battle to acquire the orb that Harry find with his name, was pretty ludicrous and out of nowhere. Lucious Malfoy gives the impression that the Dark Lord has been awaiting this moment to collect the orb. Unfortunately, it's hard to comprehend how the kids, while excellently trained by Harry, are going to defend themselves against all these Azkaban escapees and Lucious Malfoy. Next, moving on to the battle between Harry and Voldemort that turns out to be vs. Dumbledore instead, this was pretty disappointing. Here's a guy who's been plotting a return and the demise of Harry Potter for 14 years. He seems to have an opportunity, or any of his henchmen had an opportunity-- Bellatrix Lestrange is capable of killing Sirius Black in 5 seconds, but she cannot do anything to Harry? Instead she sort of runs away. Why is Dumbledore able to fend off Voldemort? Where is Voldemort's army? Is pride a factor? He wants to take on his rival in person? We don't know anything about what motivates Voldemort. This climax ends with Voldemort disappearing. He's apparently no match for Dumbledore and…Harry?
Unfortunately, also, for the climax, it wasn't 10% as good as the last film. There's a spectacular clash of power and some wicked wizardry, but the net result, actually, is quite anti-climatic in some ways. Clearly, drawing this out is part of the plan. It's just hard to compare to the first sight of Voldemort and the death of a beloved, albeit, somewhat minor character. While Sirius is killed, it was almost without incident in some ways, and Harry doesn't have time to digest it in the film before being thrust into the Voldemort / Dumbledore confrontation. It just did not have the same impact.
Finally, the magic of the Harry Potter world is pretty absent from Order of the Phoenix. The creative elements that really made the previous films shine are all but gone here. What's with the five minutes of the expanding building that ends up being the mysterious home of the Order where Harry finally is reunited with Hermoine and Ron and Sirius and learns of the Order that seems to go on and on. At one point the camera pans back at Harry and he looks like I looked seeing it in the theater—when is this thing going to just open and let us in. I think of the dragon battles and the Quidditch matches and the profound sights and imaginative things and places in the previous films. Even Hogwarts doesn't look so cool anymore.
Finally, this is sort of a pet peeve, but a dark film doesn't have to be so dark that it's hard to see what's going on. Dark is meant in tone not luminosity of the screen. This film was also to dark in the luminous sense. Maybe the 3-D IMAX® version is better. I'll let you know soon. Update: Please click here to read the comments on the IMAX® 3D version of the film.
No comments:
Post a Comment