During a hot summer afternoon, Harry and his cousin Dudley are
assaulted by a pair of Dementors in a tunnel under a highway. After a struggle,
Harry manages to fight them off by using the Patronus charm, saving himself and
the bratty Dudley. Yet Harry gets only blame from his aunt and uncle, who whisk
their beloved little "baby" boy off to the hospital (thanks to getting his soul
sucked by one of the Demnetors, Dudley’s still not one hundred percent).
Meanwhile, Harry gets some really bad news. By using magic in the presence of a
muggle, Harry had violated one of the major laws of magic. As a result, he
receives a talking letter which informs him that he has been expelled from Hogwarts.
But Dumbledore isn’t letting this go without a fight. He arranges for a hearing
for Harry at the Ministry of Magic. Dumbledore, who acts as sort of a defense
attorney for Harry, brings up the interesting point that if the Dementors are in
the exclusive service of the Ministry Of Magic, then what were these two doing
attacking a pair of boys in an English superb? Thanks to Dumbledore’s help,
Harry is re-instated at Hogwarts, but this isn’t the end of the attacks on him.
The Ministry Of Magic does not believe Harry’s contention that Lord Voldemort is
back, and has gone out of their way to smear both Harry and Dumbledore, who
openly believes and supports the boy.
At a time when Voldemort is busy gathering his forces and building up his powers
for the war to come, Harry finds himself alone and on the offensive. Even
Hogwarts isn’t safe, as Delores Umbridge, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts
professor, quickly turns out to be a far scarier threat than Voldemort is at the
moment. With its super-sleek narrative and confident manner, Harry Potter And
The Order Of The Phoenix is dazzling fun. Picking up on the dark climax of the
previous film, Phoenix begins building the foundation for a far more vast story,
an epic confrontation between the powers of light and dark. Imelda Stanton is
very good as the control-freak Umbridge, a petty bureaucrat who seizes advantage
of a real crisis to make her own play for power.
Ralph Fiennes was a perfect choice to play the newly revived Voldemort. While
his no-nose makeup is effectively creepy, it’s Fiennes’ performance that really
sells the menace of the villain he plays. Helena Bonham Carter was another
inspired casting choice for the part of Bellatrix Lestrange, Voldemort’s
morbidly gleeful partner in crime. Young Evanna Lynch is also excellent as the
oddly charming Luna Lovegood, a new ally who joins Harry’s rebellion as they
secretly train to combat the dark arts at Hogwarts. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma
Watson and Rupert Grint are all back once more as Harry, Hermione, and Ron,
respectively. And they’re all great, as always.
David Yates, who directed 2005’s The Girl In The Café, helms Order Of The
Phoenix with an assured hand, giving us a climatic wizard battle that’s both
visually stunning, as well as sheer fun to watch. I’m very happy to hear that
he’s been selected to direct the next HP film, the Half-Blood Prince, because of
the fantastic job he did with Phoenix. I got the widescreen editon, single-disc DVD
of Order Of The Phoenix, because the special features in past Harry Potter DVDs
have been largely geared towards kids. But the films themselves, especially this
latest adventure, can be enjoyed by all.
--SF
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