CANFIELD REVIEWS HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

Did I really just watch my fifth Harry Potter film? Before my mind even has a chance to reel in what that means in terms of the amount of time that’s gone by since I picked up the first book I’ll be well into my read of the last book in Rowling’s amazing, deeply resonant coming of age story. So it is a sad time, made sadder perhaps by the inevitable darkness creeping into the cinematic story. Trust me. Having the read the books ahead of time doesn’t really prepare you for the experience of watching Harry descend deeper into the conflict that Voldemort promises will cause him to “lose everything.”

I really liked this film. In fact I think it’s the best Potter film by far. It condenses an overlong installment in the series without being quite as unsatisfyingly synoptic as the rest of its cinematic brethren. Conversely there’s no doubt the synoptic feel is still there and one has to wonder if they shouldn’t start padding these films out ala’ LOTR. It isn’t just that great moments from the books get left out as that the Potter story supports more screen time. It’s a simple matter of whether a myth emerges that won’t sink under the weight of it’s own pretensions and so far the Potter series is one of the best coming of age myths of the modern era. Lightweight stuff by comparison to LOTR but eminently enjoyable and more than a little resonant for anyone just learning what it means to rightly wield their unique gifts in a world that doesn’t appreciate them.

One thing the film does incredibly well is to showcase the insidious activities of The Ministry of Magic minion Dolores Umbridge. Masterfully played by Imelda Staunton Umbridge emerges as a shadow of self deluded demagogues everywhere and for those who find her and the events surrounding her too cartoony I say this is one place where a more synoptic view does indeed provide a clearer view of what sort of havoc these sorts of people and their institutional philosophies wreak. In other words such people and their views are, largely, cartoons, pretentious sketches that pretend to be the embodiment of the virtues they borrow from. Sadly as cartoony all these aspects of the story are they are all too familiar and one can easily look back into real life muggle history for near identical examples.

The effects in the film are superb and so far this is my favorite effects film of the summer including Transformers which often buries its effects in a blur of motion. Maybe I just prefer magic to mech. I found the 3 D Imax imaging only occasionally impressive as I encountered a lot of ghosting but I’m told that may have something to do with the fact that I wear glasses. The effects do a lot here to reinforce not only the magical nature of the world the films take place in but the increasingly threatening nature of the world Harry finds himself in.

There’s no doubt this will be a different experience for those unfamiliar with the books but it is hard for me to give those muggles any sympathy. The truth is they are simply missing out. For those of us who wait for the books and movies both with baited breath this is a great movement forward even if done in the broad strokes that moviegoers have come to expect from adaptations.
——-