Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
3/4
Weaker Than It's Predecessors, But Still Fun
JLFM - wrote on 08/15/2013
Well I wouldn't call it a dud, but let it be known: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is easily the worst of the Potter films so far. Granted, this is still a very likeable and certainly recommendable production, but it's not as good as the first two Potter films, and not nearly as good as the second two.
Potter is failing to convince almost anyone that Voldemort is truly back, and those that do believe Potter have been ridiculed. Unfortunately, it is also believed that Dumbledore is planning a rebellion against the Ministry of Magic, so a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is hired in order to avoid the practice of practical magic by students. This new teacher is Dolores Umbridge, who immediately makes many strict rules, and creates unfair punishments. Meanwhile, the …
Rating of
4/4
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 10/24/2011
Harry Potter's fifth year at Hogwarts and have negative image because of the rumors. The Ministry of Magic refuses to believe the return of Lord Voldemort. A newly appointed Defence Against the Dark Arts Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), a senior Ministry official, teaches theories instead of practical magic. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna, Neville and Ginny fly to the Ministry of Magic to save Sirius Black. Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter) kills Sirius and is confronted by Harry. Dumbledor battles Voldemort and aids Harry. Some of my favorite lines: Harry – “Facing this stuff in real life is not like school.” “Working hard is important. But there is something that matters even more, believing in ourselves.” Snape – “Well, it may have escaped your notice, but …
Rating of
3.5/4
Cornelius, I implore you to see reason.
gideon43 - wrote on 05/28/2010
Without a doubt, the most successful movie franchise of the Noughties are the adaptations of JK Rowlings Harry Potter books.
The boy wizard has now enthralled audiences for over a decade and even has his own theme park.
The films have significantly grown in stature over the years and Harry Potter, his friends and his enemies have grown up on screen. There has been little tinkering with the cast and formula and this has significantly helped to produce an entertaining and highly enjoyable series.
Order of the Phoenix may not have pleased everyone, large slices of the book were altered or simply left out but as a movie, Phoenix raises the bar. Not encumbered with too many special effect shots, there is ample room for character development and meaningful content. The actors involved …
Rating of
2.5/4
Looking Good
Zombified - wrote on 12/27/2009
Another adaptation to the Harry Potter series. Although the book was bigger and more was taken out of the book The Order of the Phoenix was one of the best movies of the Harry Potter series so far.
The story is pretty accurate, but not enough is learned about the Order itself. The special effects, character development, and imagination poured into the story try to make up for that, but the story is still lacking a lot of the essential parts that the book had. I realize that there isn't enough time to add everything from the book, but they could have been a little more accurate on the Order and its members.
The characters react pretty well to the things around them, and most of the things are accurate. Most of the characters are similar to the previous Harry Potter series, but the …
Rating of
2/4
Harry Potter & The Order of the Abridgement
goodfellamike - wrote on 10/26/2008
In this installment, the teenage wizards find themselves waging a battle with not only Voldemort, but the Ministry of Magic as well. The ministry has appointed their own regime to Hogwarts in the presence of Dolores Umbridge, the toad-like authoritarian who unleashes a massive stronghold over the freedoms that were previously allowed to the students and who believes Magic should be taught, but not practiced. This tyranny inspires a handful of the students, led by Harry, Ron and Hermione to form Dumbledore’s Army: a secret organization instructed to prepare each other for battle; a gathering that Umbridge considers as mutiny.
The Order of the Phoenix gets a lot of things right, least of which is the accurate casting of its new characters. Imelda Staunton is terrific as Umbridge, a …
Rating of
4/4
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Franz Patrick - wrote on 12/24/2007
Arguably the worst "Harry Potter" installment. Why am I giving it my highest rating, nonetheless? Aside from being weird, I believe that even though it's weaker than its predecessors, the film had so many things to deal with because it is the longest book. So, I'm deciding to give it a break. It's not a bad movie at all. It's good but it's not magnificient. This film is the darkest, meanest, and most threatening of them all--which overall, I approve in its direction. Still, I can't help but notice that the sense of wonder and humour that we enjoyed in the past were all gone. It makes me question whether the last two movies should get darker. I was taken aback during the first scene because it had a horror-thriller feel to it. Aside from the amazing final twenty minutes of the film, what …
Rating of
3.5/4
Great Installment In the Series
brendoman - wrote on 12/07/2007
I really enjoyed it. I do think it could have actually been a bit longer since there was some major character development from the book, Ron in particular, that was left out. I am a tad concerned about some of the plot holes they are creating in the films because they have to plow through everything. I still love just looking at them though. The sets are fantastic, as always. The actors are top notch across the board. Imelda Staunton was simply amazing as Umbridge. The gal who played Luna Lovegood was fabulous too. It's just hard at times to see such amazing talents in such small roles. Folks like Brendan Gleason and Emma Thompson. I wouldn't say they're wasted though. I think it's one of the things that makes the movies what they are. The next two movies are going to be HUGE as far as …
Rating of
3.5/4
EXTRA: OotP makes millions... shocks no one.
John Doe - wrote on 07/30/2007
Let's get something out of the way quickly. I am writing as a movie viewer. I didn't read the book, I won't read the book, and I don't care if page 329 line 40 was an integral part of the story that the movie didn't tell.
The Harry Potter films have all been great. This one is no exception to that assesment. Great effects, good story line, good acting, and so on... and so on. It loses half a star for being outright confusing in parts. Who the heck sends those demons to get Harry in the beginning of the movie? Never says... Why can half the school staff fly through London without anyone seeing them? No one seems to care... How is it possible that there are so many dusty and unkept sections in a school that gives each student and staff member a broom as standard issue? The …
Rating of
4/4
Cropped, too short, but very entertaining overall.
TheWolf - wrote on 07/24/2007
As I've mentioned in all the other Harry Potter reviews, the acting is top notch. The amazing cast has come full form. There are a lot of minor details missing that really make the book my favorite of the series. I have to say that I was bothered that they changed one of the effects that I was expecting. In the last movie Harry had only one conversation with Sirius. In this scene Sirius's face is made up of the embers and charcoals of the fire place. It was a well made effect that I really thought was cool. It showed the talents of the animators as they made Gary Oldmans face out of buring embers and charred wood. In this movie, Harry has another conversation with Sirius in the fireplace, only to have the director tell the animators to take the easy way out. Instead of usingin the same …
Rating of
3/4
Abridged Phoenix Rising
Chris Kavan - wrote on 07/18/2007
I never thought I would say this about any Harry Potter film, but this one was too short. Order of the Phoenix is the longest in the Potter novels and the film gets across the broad strokes, but loses much of the details.
The good thing is that what is on screen gets everything right. The three leads continue their improvement. Plus both newcomers and the other actors who've been around since the beginning, even if some of the parts amount to glorified cameos, find a good rhythm. The best addition this time around is no doubt Imelda Staunton who is pitch perfect as the delightfully evil Dolores Umbridge - the militaristic new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher who is all about rules and fluffy pink outfits.
Phoenix is also delves a little deeper into darkness as Harry must …
