2008 Woodie Awards
SectionsTwo-disc DVD not too special
Thaddeus Stoklasa
Issue date: 12/4/07 Section: Features
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I received an e-mail a while back asking if I wanted to review an advance copy of the "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" DVD. I, of course, said yes because, despite my lack of attachment to or familiarity with the series, I really enjoy getting to do things before other people. It's why I wait in line for new game system releases.
Then again, I guess tons of people saw this movie already, as it's currently the sixth highest grossing film of all time according to BoxOfficeMojo.com, so I suppose I'm not that ahead of the curve.
"Order of the Phoenix," for the three or four people who've never heard of this series before, follows the continuing adventures of the world's favorite nerdy, glasses-clad wizard-in-training, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe).
The crux of the film involves Harry and Hogwarts' Headmaster Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) branded as liars for telling the wizarding world that the Dark Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has returned. The Ministry of Magic sends an underhanded and creepy yet cheerful and pink-veneered bureaucrat Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) to basically suck all the fun out of the school, and brand anyone who agrees with Harry and Dumbledore as liars.
It's all very dark in tone as the main characters are moving through adolescence.
Listing all the characters and their various relationships would take... well, look at the size of the book.
This film is based on the longest book in the series, and it shows. It's more than two hours long and even that feels rushed at times--especially early on. The story can be a bit difficult to penetrate at times if you haven't read the book nor followed the previous films closely.
This is probably due to the fact that "Order of the Phoenix" is the shortest film in the series thusfar, despite the book's aforementioned length.
But who am I kidding? You likely already know whether you like this movie, because if you're going to buy it you probably have already seen it and all the installments leading up to it and read all the books or whatever. Still, since this is a DVD, there's more than just the feature to discuss, so let's jump to that.
Then again, I guess tons of people saw this movie already, as it's currently the sixth highest grossing film of all time according to BoxOfficeMojo.com, so I suppose I'm not that ahead of the curve.
"Order of the Phoenix," for the three or four people who've never heard of this series before, follows the continuing adventures of the world's favorite nerdy, glasses-clad wizard-in-training, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe).
The crux of the film involves Harry and Hogwarts' Headmaster Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) branded as liars for telling the wizarding world that the Dark Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has returned. The Ministry of Magic sends an underhanded and creepy yet cheerful and pink-veneered bureaucrat Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) to basically suck all the fun out of the school, and brand anyone who agrees with Harry and Dumbledore as liars.
It's all very dark in tone as the main characters are moving through adolescence.
Listing all the characters and their various relationships would take... well, look at the size of the book.
This film is based on the longest book in the series, and it shows. It's more than two hours long and even that feels rushed at times--especially early on. The story can be a bit difficult to penetrate at times if you haven't read the book nor followed the previous films closely.
This is probably due to the fact that "Order of the Phoenix" is the shortest film in the series thusfar, despite the book's aforementioned length.
But who am I kidding? You likely already know whether you like this movie, because if you're going to buy it you probably have already seen it and all the installments leading up to it and read all the books or whatever. Still, since this is a DVD, there's more than just the feature to discuss, so let's jump to that.
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