We saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last night.
It was excellent!
I did not re-read the book before seeing the film. The gap between reading it and seeing the celluloid version was probably two years. For that reason, there were a few key things I remembered about the plot, but many things I had forgotten. The film contained about 97.5% of the plot points I remembered. And it also contained several that I was happy to remember once they showed up. Furthermore, the film took the most annoying parts of the book (which were key plot points, in my estimation) and made them entertaining.
If you have not read the book, you should read no more of this entry.
If you have read the book, but don't want to spoil which parts of the book were left in and left out, you should skip the rest of this, as well.
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Superb items in the film:
- The final spell battle with the Death eaters was awesome! Both the part with the students, and then when the Order joined in. I've often imagined spellcraft battles (being a D&D player who almost always runs a wizard) and this was what I always imagined, and beyond! I want to watch it again, right now!
- Luna was perfectly cast and perfectly played. Evanna Lynch will make a name in Hollywood. I had forgotten about her. In the book, she was a great character, but somewhat hard to empathize with. Not in the film. She was completely enjoyable.
- Umbridge's little laugh, and her office. Is she evil? Well, she may not be a Death Eater (or she may) but you can be evil in more than one way -- and one way is by thinking you're serving the State and your ends justify your means. Umbridge is Evil. Her tittering laugh and her dainty office belie her true nature.
- The D.A. was set up perfectly and executed flawlessly. I want to join Harry's class, too!
- Daniel Radcliff is growing up, and they're letting Harry, too. He's got presence and charisma, and looks like a young man.
- There are so many more. How can I stop? But I have to, or I'll never get this posted.
So, let me mention two more points.
Point 1. During the book I was most annoyed by two things: First, Harry's whining (and general bad mood) throughout the book. I actually believe it was important, but it got long in the 870 pages. In the film, it was better because it took less of the movie, and because Daniel Radcliff showed more range than I pictured in the books. Second, the general lack of support Harry got from the adults, but especially from Dumbledore. In the film, it's clear that McGonagall tries, and is stopped by Umbridge's McCarthy-istic behavior. And, in the film, even though I think Dumbledore was still written poorly in this decision, the lack of support was only a small part of the action.
Point 2. The editing (or something -- I'm not an expert on how films are made and who makes what decisions) was choppy at points. This film was 138 minutes, but adding two more minutes to allow for transitions from one scene to the next would have helped in several cases. It's not enough to ruin the movie, but for those who only see the movies and don't read the books, it will cause troubled whispers ("Huh? Where are we now? Who is that? What just happened?")
So, while not perfect, this movie was excellent. In my opinion, for me, the best of the five so far -- and that's saying something. I didn't think any Potter movie would be better than "Prisoner of Azkaban."
Well done!
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