Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
I was one of those guys who never thought it was cool to read Harry Potter books. Even though I had friends at uni who swore they were fun, I could never get past the main character looking a bit dull. Then came the movies and all of a sudden the geeky wizard became a cult hero – I was hooked.
I still haven’t read any of the books and I don’t plan to, but I think they’ve done a great job with this movie franchise. The latest movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is not quite as good as its predecessor – The Goblet of Fire. The story is interesting, but far too much time is spent developing a sub plot that doesn’t go anywhere.
Dolores Umbridge is appointed senior undersecretary to the minister at Hogwarts in a bid to raise the standards. She implements a whole bunch of new rules and regulations. Her character is one that could have been a lot better developed, but in the movie it is difficult to understand why she is so bitter and cruel. Her mission is to spy on Dumbeldore and for the minister to see if he is building up an army to defeat the dark lord, who the minister refuses to admit has returned.
As for the bigger picture – Voldemort – well, aside from a few peculiar visions, there isn’t much action. So the dark lord has returned and he is building up his army. And what? They spent the whole movie saying that without much going on. The final battle is a bit of a let down and Harry Potter doesn’t do anything out of the ordinary except kiss a pretty Asian girl. I was also a bit confused with the whole “he who cannot be named thing”, because they use Voldemort’s name quite a lot throughout the movie.
The next movie will surely be better. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is fun, but it could have been a lot more polished with a bit more substance.
