Casting a Spell over Me! (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2 DVDs))

Member Name: katestuartuk

Product:	Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2 DVDs)
Date:	19/07/07 (127 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Entertaining, great character development, very enjoyable film!

Disadvantages: Ending is a bit of a build up for the next film, but then, that's how the book was too...

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix

(2007)

Last night Himself and I went on a date to the movies. How romantic! Well, it was Orange Wednesday, and we thought we’d treat ourselves to a night out together, as we’ve had precious few of those since we got pregnant due to my ongoing sickness and inability to concentrate on anything for longer than about twenty minutes. But who can say no to Harry Potter? Or, for that matter, to Orange Wednesdays? (That’s where if you’re an Orange customer you get two cinema tickets for the price of one on a Wednesday. Pretty groovy, eh?!)

So I made a quick, cinema related tea for when Himself got in from work (frankfurters in hotdog buns with onions and tomato sauce – how unhealthy!), popped a huge amount of popcorn in the microwave for us to take with us, and filled a large Evian bottle with tap water to avoid paying a thousand pounds for a teeny bottle of cinema water when we got there. No flies on me.

Himself had picked up the tickets on his way home from work, so when we got there (with about three minutes to spare) we just were able to march straight in and find a seat. For a Wednesday it was really quite busy, but it was Harry Potter, and we all know how popular the chap is, don’t we?!!

The Film

I’ve already read the books, so I knew what was coming and remembered vaguely how things panned out in the storyline, but that certainly didn’t detract from my general enjoyment of the film itself. The characters are so believable and full and colourful that you can’t help being sucked into this world of magic and mystery.

The sets too are pretty fantastic. I read recently that the dining room at Hogwarts is a set build to a design based on The Great Hall in Oxford, and it’s fully, because I’ve been there, and when I read Harry Potter books, and read scenes where the characters are in dining room, that’s where I am in my imagination. Oxford. Strange, eh?!
Some of the newer characters really get to bloom in this film, and one character I became particularly fond of in the film that I hadn’t been so fond of when reading the book, was Luna Lovegood – played brilliantly by Evanna Lynch. She brings this wonderfully light honestly to scenes she is in, and without any effort on her part, forms strong links with Harry that seem to help lift him from his doom and gloom. It’s a film where Harry is struggling, after the death of Cedric in the last film, and the weight of the world is clearly visible hanging round his shoulders. But Luna lights things up with this very sweet, very astute, and sometimes rather comical side to her character that lifts the mood and cheers you up. In some ways, I would say she’s the star of this film, despite not being in the main character circle (you know, Hermione, Dumbledore, Ron and Harry).

Sometimes you go to see a film and it’s so far removed from the book you love that you feel cross, angry, disappointed, and long to hurl your half torn ticket back at the box office and demand your money back. But this film, I have to say, did none of those things to me. It was honourable to the text in a way that films so often aren’t these days, and that’s such a good thing.

Character Development

Harry changes a lot during this film, from being terribly traumatised about what he’s seen, and afraid of what he’s going to see, to regaining his role as a leader, a strong person who can use his experiences to help the people around him. As a character, he really pulls through, and though it’s a tough road, and you see him struggle with his feelings and struggle with his demons, it’s really interesting to watch his character develop. Daniel Radcliffe has really done well in portraying Harry, to the point where I’m sure none of us can actually imagine anyone else in the role.
Hermione too has grown up somewhat, and in this film looses a little of the strictness she piles upon herself, seeing perhaps that there are more important things in life than passing OWLS and being on time for Potions. There are a couple of scenes where we really see her let her hair down (well, in a very Hermione Grainger sort of way!) and these add to the sense that she’s growing into herself, and feeling more free as a person.
Ron will always be Ron, but he’s grown a bit more backbone in this film, and isn’t such a quiet, timid mouse of a boy – he has a voice now to stand up for what he thinks, and this is shown to good effect quite early in the film. In all, all three main characters have grown into themselves a little more, and the actors themselves seem to have grown confidence as well as better acting skills as the time has gone on.

My Opinion

I have to say that of all the films so far, this is by far my favourite. Though the ending is more of a build up to the next film (the book is too, to be fair), I just loved the character interaction and the way the film was shot. The action scenes are really fantastic, and for me, it was a film that stood out from the previous Harry Potter films as more grown up, more believable, and with a much better flow of the story. If I had to choose a favourite Harry Potter Book, it would probably be the first book, but if I had to do the same with one of the films, it would be this one, no question. I say get down to your local cinema, buy a ticket and see. Make up your own mind!

Thank you for reading, Kate x

Summary: Highly recommended!