Oh, Harry Potter. You have so many in the grip of your wizardry that it’s difficult to imagine anyone disliking your wonderful book-to-movie adaptations. I’ve generally been critical of them, however, despite having not read any of the books (or perhaps because I’ve not read them), and even knowing the scope of the series and how difficult it is to adapt something that bulky to the screen. Mostly I dislike the lack of depth of the movies, something I’m told the books suffer from as well.
Forgetting all that, however, the flaws in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix revolve around an overly talkie script, in which very little happens, and what does seems mostly irrelevant to the series as a whole. Relationships don’t change, with the exception that Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) finally shows his affection for Cho (Katie Cheung), though that adolescent fascination presented so well in Goblet of Fire seems forced here. Whatever depth of characterization the books might have has been utterly leached from this script by newcomer Michael Goldenberg. Likewise, new director David Yates, whose work has predominantly been in television, offers little new direction or fresh perspective on the series, instead giving us a drama-heavy two hour special. By the end, very little has actually changed, except for a few hearts and minds.
The film opens with Harry under questioning by the high court of the Ministry of Magic, under the adjudication of Prime Minister Cornelius Fudge, for unauthorized use of magic in the presence of a Muggle. It’s a rather Pyrrhic scene, however, as Harry’s indictment is overthrown by the clearly unbiased majority. What is revealed is that while Harry and Dumbledore believe Voldemort is on the rise to power once again, no one else, including the Ministry of Magic, believes them. Harry’s return to Hogwarts is met with steely eyes and whispers against him. It seems most are under the impression that Harry was responsible for Cedric Digory’s death, despite the fact that Harry’s impeccable behavior and heroic deeds have saved Hogwarts time and again. No matter.
Harry has also been having more dreams. Through them Harry feels he shares a connection with He Who Must Not Be Named, whose name is frequently and unabashedly mentioned. While Harry mopes and feels sorry for himself, Hogwarts has undergone a change in leadership. Under the new headmistress-ship of the pink-clad and delightfully strict Delores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), Hogwarts is turned into a post-Patriot Act/Homeland Security school where wizardry and witchcraft are relegated to the land of theory, student interaction is fiercely monitored, indiscretions are harshly punished, and ill behavior is met with medieval torture.
In spite of her oppressive regime, Harry and his friends Hermione (the expressive Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) gather a group of students dedicated to practical training against the coming battle with Voldemort. Under his tutelage, they become skilled in various spells now outlawed under Umbridge’s new rule of law.
Unfortunately, the majority of the film is told to us rather than shown. Much of the movie is simply scenes upon scenes of dialogue, as Harry’s angst and prophetic sense of doom is played out against the occasional new edict from Umbridge. With so many characters and so much going on, it’s no wonder that storylines are abbreviated or completely missing in favour of giving us as much of Harry as possible. Thus, a handful of delightful characters from previous films, like Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), and Alistair Moody (Brendan Gleeson) have little to do and less to say. Newcomer Helena Bonham Carter, as Bellatrix Lestrange, gets barely any screentime, and like the others, is mostly superfluous. Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) gets the most play here, as his involvement with Harry is most central to Harry’s character development, but even he gets short shrift as the plot laboriously but inevitably pushes our heroes toward a showdown with the evil Voldemort.
Who really doesn’t seem all that powerful when it comes down to it.
As the children have grown into adults and learned to fight for themselves, the series itself has matured and become darker and more complex. But with each book increasingly packed with more subplots and characters, they have also become less intriguing. The world of Harry Potter has outgrown its own mysteriousness, becoming just another teen drama. Order of the Phoenix feels like a well-managed stage drama brought to life with a lot of digital trickery and a little smoke to disguise the fact that at its heart, it’s all talk and no action. Let’s just hope the next film will go light on the chatter. After all, it’s a story about magic, not the mundane.
Fringe Rating: out of 5