Order of the Phoenix film review- Am I mad for liking it?

19.2k · June 21, 2021

Review of the 5th film (Order of the Phoenix)

Introduction

Like some of you, I initially didn’t like the 5th film and thought it to be the worst second only to the 4th film. But overtime and since reading the 5th book, I have begun to appreciate the 5th film a lot more. I might even say it is one of the best films in the series- at least from a book to film adaptation perspective.

Structure and flow of the film

Unlike the 4th and 6th films, the 5th film did a fantastic job of being very true to the book. I’d go one step further and say the film did a better job than the book- in the book, some scenes were very dragged out and the directors did a good job of shortening them to make the film flow well yet at the same time it was still just as meaningful. Examples: the wizengamot scene; Umbridge’s speech; the scene in Dumbledore’s office after Harry’s nightmare of Arthur; Dumbledore’s office scene after Dumbledore’s army is caught, etc... Even some of the smaller scenes were nicely shortened such as Harry’s discussion with Hermione & Ron after his vision of Sirius being tortured; the trio and Luna/Ginny/Neville discussing how they are going to get to London and wanting to come.

The directors changed some scenes around in the book which worked really well- it helped the film flow well and keep the dramatic tone throughout. For example, I thought the way they combined Gred & Forge’s “big exit” scene with the examinations and Harry’s vision of Sirius were very clever.

This is the first film where we see montages being used which are extremely effective as it gives a lot of information in a short space of time. For example: Dolores Umbridge montage and the Room of Requirement montage.

Characters

What the 4th film lacked in, the 5th film more than made up for. There were plenty of golden trio moments, plenty of moments where we connect with Harry alone and plenty of moments where we bonded with other characters- namely Neville, Ginny and Luna. The room of requirement montage was done well and we got a real sense of community. As I explain later, I liked the way they subtly dropped in hints about Neville’s parents. Even Luna got her own scene- in the book, she explains Thestrals to Harry in front of everyone else. Whereas in the film, Harry and Luna get their own scene in the forest which really captured the film’s theme of Harry’s internal struggle as well as introducing Luna well- she might be odd but she is extremely loyal.

The other thing that I liked is how the characters were toned down compared to the books. For example, Professor Snape, Professor Umbridge are are made to be much worse in the books than they are in the films. Even the main characters such as Hermione Granger comes across as annoying and overly dramatic sometimes in the books but the film got it just right.

Another thing I thought they capitalised well on was Sirius Black. Every scene with Sirius Black in the film was emotive and meaningful whether it was how Harry hugs him at the start of the film to Harry’s chat with him in Kings Cross station and Grimmauld place. Of course, this was all building up to Sirius’s death. The sad soundtrack that plays during both chats (maybe it should be called Sirius’s theme?) with Sirius was powerful to arouse the feelings between Sirius, Harry and the viewer. The subtle hint of Sirius’s death when the soundtrack is ending as the camera zooms into Sirius’s burnt out face on the family tree was so clever to foreboding his death. The immediate moments before the death scene (including, “nice one James”), the death scene itself and the aftermath of the death scene were highly emotional and was fitting for such a big character- in my opinion the second most emotional death in the series. (First being @Dumbledore :default_rofl: )

It was refreshing to see the Dursleys again with what would be the last proper time in the series excluding the 5 second scene they appear in Deathly Hallows part 1. It’s a shame we don’t get see them in the 6th or 7th films.

Dumbledore was much better in this film compared to in Goblet of fire. I really liked his bad-ass entrances (Wizengamot scene, Courtyard scene with Professor Trelawney, Ministry scene).

General

The soundtracks, (new) characters, costumes, sets, visuals were all beautifully done. The ministry of magic set was stunning and Grimmauld place was just like it was in the book. The casting of the characters were well done- Dolores Umbridge, Bellatrix, Luna Lovegood, Tonks, etc...

The whole ministry of magic scene as a whole was pretty epic- The initially mysterious nature of the hall of prophecies to the battle scenes and the possession scene.

Minor quibbles:

No Quidditch. Seeing Ron develop at Quidditch would have been good. Even aside from the storyline, just seeing Quidditch and large exciting crowds would have been really cool. It really is an immersive experience into the Wizarding World. Especially bearing in mind the last time we see Quidditch properly was in the 2nd film.

No St Mungo’s hospital scene. The storyline with Arthur at Grimmauld Place was done nicely. But it would have been nice to have seen St Mungo’s to have the scene with Neville’s parents. Also, the set of St Mungo’s would have been grand which would have been cool to see. To be fair, it would have been a lot of effort for not much filming and I think including St Mungo’s would have disrupted the flow of the film. And I thought they did a fantastic job of still subtly dropping in hints about Neville’s parents throughout the film. E.g. Kings Cross scene where Sirius hands picture of order with Neville’s parents; Neville finding the room of requirement; Neville’s reaction to Bellatrix escaping; Harry and Neville brief chat in the room of requirement, etc... On a side note, there is a good short fan film on YouTube about Neville’s parents. Fan film and fan fiction aren’t normally my thing but that was really good to watch so I recommend it.

Snape’s worst memory scene- missing out Lily. To be fair, the directors may not have realised the importance of Lily because Order of Phoenix came out in 2007 and the Deathly hallows book didn’t come out till the week after the film was released.

No Dobby. Not specifically directed at the 5th film but it’s a shame we don’t see Dobby more in the series. After Chamber of Secrets, he makes a brief appearance at the start of the 7th film and then the next time we see him is his big climax + death scene. I liked the way Neville Longbottom found the room of requirement in the film but it would still have been nice to see Dobby even briefly. Actually, a good time would have been Dobby coming to warn them just before Umbridge breaks in the room of requirement like in the book.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading and I hope you have found it interesting. Even to those people who despise the 5th film, I hope you can find a new appreciation for it or at least understand the viewpoint of the people who do like the 5th film. I think the 5th film sets up the second Wizarding war (I.e. 6th/7th/8th films) extremely well. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to appreciate the 5th film because like I said at the start, I used to hate it alongside Goblet of fire.

19.2k · June 21, 2021

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