Not bad, just disappointing. Granted this movie is based on the weakest of the books: the overall plot of the series was not advanced at all, Rowling’s efforts to portray her hero’s stormy psychological development into adolescence consisted entirely of long passages rendered in block capitals, and story rests on acts of incredible stupidity on the part of adults. So, there was not much to start with. But even so, this is a mess. It is so badly edited (from what must have been a much longer movie) that whole scenes make no sense because earlier events which are referenced later never actually made it off the cutting room floor (Cho’s betrayal, Luna’s possessions, Dumbledore on love). My kids spent the entire trip back from the movie counting the mistakes. The movie is very dark – all night sweats and moments of claustrophic panic – unleavened by any sense of wonderment. There is a single scene, when the older Weasley twins create chaos in the examination room and chase Umbridge, that reminds viewers of the excitement of magic and the pleasures of being a student at Hogwarts. Otherwise it is a conventional teen thriller. A word about the adult British cast. As always, it is a who’s who of talented British actors, with the addition this time of Helena Bonham Carter and Imelda Staunton. But, with the usual exception of Alan Rickman’s Snape, they are all wasted. They are either asked to ham it up (Staunton is completely over the top as a very smug Dolores Umbridge, and Bonham Carter just cackles like a maniac), or given lines of such banality that it must be strain to have to utter them (Gary Oldham is tortured with dialogue that cannot be said with a straight face; I suspect he administered the Avada Kedavra curse on himself to get it over with). Why do these actors do it? Is it some conceit about bringing their craft to a wider audience?
As my friend Puff Daddy once quipped, “it’s all about the Benjamins.”
Indeed, $12 million last night alone, the biggest midnight haul in American history. I think I’ll make my daughter take me but she’s out of the state for a couple more weeks so I have been granted a temporary reprieve (mayber her uncle will do it).
Two other possible reasons:
1) there are so few serious British movies that actors have to fill in with work on ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Extras’ just to keep busy. Supply of actors far outweighs demand for them.
2) the film makers know that US reviewers are so susceptible to feelings of cultural inferiority that filling a movie with fine British actors — however underused — guarantees respectable reviews.
Or, reason (3), these movies are like zoos. It used to be that Terry-Thomas stood in for all of England, or even–god bless America!–a yank could just as easily play the part, guv’nored up in chimney soot. But those days are gone, for shame, for shame. Now we need more exotic fare, like the funny-faced Spall, the withering Smith, the intent Oldman. Luckily, if one exhibition dies, borrow from another zoo, and no one’ll be the wiser. One old Brit’s as good as another.
I’m waiting for the Winstone exhibit before I plump my hard-earned American dollars down.
It’s smart business, the work load is light, and an entire generation of British actors are seen (perhaps even revered) by the youngest generation of British spectators (and they will remember). It makes a lot of sense. It is interesting to remember that England is the size of Georgia and these actors have to do something to while away the time between guest stints on “Extras” and RSC revivals of The Merry Wives of Windsor. I also remember Zoë Wanamaker (Madame Hooch) refusing to return to the second film because she felt, given the success of the first installment, she deserved more money. So, Madame Hooch simply disappeared from the films. Genius.
i had to walk out of it BECAUSE IT WAS TOO SCARY! this is my very first encounter with harry and the gang, but man, it was so dark, so disturbing. is this a film for kids????
really, i must get my head checked.
the parts that weren’t freaking me out were either incomprehensible or too boring. all in all, a fulfilling experience.
The cinematography was also crap. Unlike Chris, I enjoyed this book, but the movie was unwatchable. I thought my eyeballs were going to roll out of my head.
I do agree with Chris’ critique of the editing, particularly in the final third, but I still found this installment to be very entertaining and uncomfortably intense (I’ve read the book twice now and don’t have much of a need for total fidelity; even my eight-year-old was able to fill in the missing pieces without much effort). I thought there were enough scenes of levity and magic to keep the muggles happy while also honoring the book’s darker tone (I particularly enjoyed the scene between Hermione, Ron and Harry after the big kiss with Cho). Order of the Phoenix takes more liberties with Rowling’s text than any previous film and to good effect, I think. The film’s ability to sustain a mood of dread and paranoia was especially spot on. The climax was the best yet in the series; the death of one particular character was very well handled and Harry’s fight with his own inner darkness had me on the edge of my seat. Finally, I really liked the young woman who played Luna; the casting agents should be applauded.
I still think the third installment, directed by Alfonso Cuaron, was far and away the best of the movies. It caught the right atmosphere — with an appropriate mix of wonderment and darkness — and the editing and cinematography were simply superior to any of the others.
The story on Luna, as I read it in the British papers, is that Evanna Lynch read the book, decided she was the only person who could properly portray Luna, and turned up at the casting call. She was a little precious for my taste, but certainly impressive for a debut acting performance.
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Daniel is my favorite contributor to this site. I prize consistency above all else.
aaah–can’t figure out how to get rid of the fucker. damn you mike, for making me uncheck that box–his comments after that seem to have been approved by default, and now that setting doesn’t apply to him.
Well, Daniel is my favorite contributor to this site. I prize consistency above all else.