Throwback Thursday Review: 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'

I apologize for the delayed review as I just finished rereading the Order of the Phoenix yesterday and it has been a goal of these Harry Potter reviews to complete each book before rewatching the films. Anyways, this week's review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix continues on the path of Harry Potter movies in my lead up to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. As a reminder, next week I will review Jack Reacher to coincide with the release of it's sequel Jack Reacher: Never Go Back and the following week I will resume this series with my thoughts on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Other reviews that you can most certainly look forward in these coming weeks include The Accountant, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, and Keeping Up With the Joneses. I haven't determined if I will be watching Max Steel or Inferno but if I see either you can expect a review.

'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' Review

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix naturally progresses with the annual continuation of the Harry Potter series as the fifth installment in the franchise sees Harry entering his fifth year at Hogwarts. The Wizarding World scoffs at the idea Lord Voldemort has returned to full form, deeming both Potter and Hogwarts Headmaster to be merely seeking attention, and the Ministry of Magic slowly seizes control of the Wizarding institution with intentions to strictly enforce magical learning.

Order of the Phoenix proceeds in the darker path of the previous two installments, as the characters mature so does the story, and despite the darker tone the film strays from feeling too gloomy thanks to the series' wondrous magic and hopeful undercurrents. Order of the Phoenix also has new creative juices flowing with a new director, screenwriter, cinematographer, and composer for the series. David Yates offers some fresh direction for the series, taking the reigns of director only to carry out the duty for the remainder of the series, exploring the more mature aspects of the series like the political atmosphere of the Wizarding World, something that hadn't really been touched upon to this point.

The production design, visual effects, costuming and cinematography are all top notch, as to be expected at this point, depicting new magical creatures like Thestrals, a wide flurry of spells, charms, and other incantations in a new light. The one nitpick I have in regards to effects was the CGI for Grawp, a giant who shows up in the second half resembling early CG-work.

Michael Goldenberg had a daunting task adapting J.K. Rowling's longest book in the series into a feature length screenplay but manages to pick out the extraneous subplots and incorporate the most important elements of the book making it a faithful adaptation. The new score composed by Nicholas Hooper is equally enchanting and full of despair to fill out the wide range of emotional accompaniment required for the more sophisticated storytelling. The performances once again showcase choice British talent in the plentiful roles to inhabit the vast Wizarding World with many returning cast members and a few franchise additions. 

Daniel Radcliffe plays a more reserved nuanced Harry Potter but with no less courage to spare running face first into danger without so much as a second thought. Rupert Grint and Emma Watson return as Harry's dearest friends Ron and Hermione serving as an effective emotional and intellectual support system.

Franchise mainstays of Hogwarts include Michael Gambon's perceptive headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Alan Rickman's shrewd Severus Snape, Maggie Smith's compassionate Minerva McGonagall, Robbie Coltrane's amiable Hagrid, Matthew Lewis' more self assured Neville Longbottom, Katie Leung's infatuated Cho Chang, Bonnie Wright's virtuous Ginny Weasley, James Phelps and Oliver Phelps as the mischevious Weasley twins Fred and George, franchise rookie Evanna Lynch as the loony Luna Lovegood, and Tom Felton's underhanded Draco Malfoy. The Order of the Phoenix organization lead by Dumbledore is comprised of Brendan Gleeson's Alastor "MadEye" Moody, David Thewlis' Remus Lupin, Gary Oldman's vigillent Sirius Black, Natalia Tena's Nymphadora Tonks, George Harris' Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Julie Walters and Mark Williams as Molly and Arthur Weasley in addition to some of the aforementioned Hogwarts professors.

On the flip side Ralph Fiennes' wicked Lord Voldemort leads his Death Eaters including most notably Jason Issac's terrible Lucius Malfoy and newcomer Helena Bonham Carter's nefarious Bellatrix Lestrange. Ministry of Magic advocators encompass Robert Hardy's bureaucratic Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge and Imelda Staunton's vile Dolores Umbridge, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and Hogwarts High Inquisitor. 

In conclusion, Order of the Phoenix represents the best some of the best the Harry Potter film series has to offer with exceptional technical prowess, new direction, a faithful screenplay, a whimsical yet serious score, and the ever-so-enchanting ensemble cast.

Film Assessment: A-