So, i finally got around to watching the fifth Harry Potter movie. I told myself that i would wait until I read Deathly Hallows before i watching Order of the Phoenix. I was really looking forward to OotP, since it is the first one where there starts to be real wizard fights. Goblet of Fire sort of did... but it became a more predominant theme in OotP.
Delores Umbridge was cast perfectly, although she did not quite fit the froglike description i had in my head from reading the books. Her voice, mouthy clicks, and actions were a perfect match. The same goes for Bellatrix Lestrange. Helena Carter was the perfect person to play this deranged witch, who craves nothing more than torturing her victims before killing them. The only casting job I disagreed with was Luna Lovegood's character. I am not quite sure why... I just didn't get the right feel from her. She seemed like she was really trying too hard to be the quirky, not-as-insane-as-you-might-think girl that joins the group.
The relationship between Cho Chang and Harry was very brief indeed. The key elements were still there, but i seem to remember it being a longer, deeper relationship in the book. This was the time where all the students were starting to 'blossom' and start relationships. At this point Harry was flirting with a few other women, all of which were left out of the movie. He had moments with Moaning Mrytle, Ginny Weasley, and even Luna. The Ron-Hermione friendship/relationship was not even glanced over.
The special effects were well done, although i have a few things i didn't like. The biggest one being that the Stupify spell was white, instead of red. This sounds nit-picky, but it was described very clearly in the book, and used on so many occasions, I really would have expected them to get it right. I really enjoyed the mental image from the books of red stunning curses flying by the green killing curses. It somehow seems less important. Less tangible. Given that one of Harry's mainstays is his compassion and mercy, which sets himself apart from the Death Eaters, simply making this spell white/clear really detracts from its importance in the movie.
Another little thing that bothered me was the omission of the DA magic galleon. This was the special token that alerted the DA members, and could let them know when to meet. Yes, this is a very small item... but if you've read Deathly Hallows, you know that it is mentioned again.
Apparating is such a cool concept, but they are played out in two different manners. Near the beginning of the movie, the Weasley brothers apparate next to Harry at Sirius' house. In this scene, they simply appeared. Yet, later in the movie, when the Order members arrive at the Ministry, they seem to shoot down to earth from above with a weird ghostly trail behind them. Then, to make matters worse, Death Eaters and members of the Order went chasing each other around the room... floating in this ghostly form around the walls. I realize they were most likely 'apparating' around while in the middle of their chase... but it is not at all explained, and nothing like that is ever mentioned in the books.
Another, slightly larger point that was glazed over was the explanation of the Prophecy. The fact that Professor Trelawney was the one who made the Harry-Voldemort prophecy is the only vindication that she ever receives. It should have explained why she was a teacher at Hogwarts, when she so obviously was not that much of a Seer. The Prophecy explanation makes more sense out of the scene where Umbridge sacks Trelawney, but Dumbledore continues to provide housing for her. He was protecting her. I think that they could have taken an extra 2-3 minutes to run through the who's and why's to better explain what the Prophecy was, and why, exactly, Voldemort wanted it to badly.
Despite the small things I've brought up here, i still enjoyed the movie a great deal. It represented the book very well. As well as a 2 hour feature can represent the virtual tome that is OotP. Given that the movie came in at 138 minutes, i dint think they could have realistically included some of the things I've mentioned. No one, save for the die hard Harry Potter fans, would have sat through another half hour of the story. I really am looking forward to The Half-Blood Prince, and definitely the culmination of the story in Deathly Hallows. However, i wish i didn't have to wait another 2 years for Half-Blood Prince, and probably 2 more years for the conclusion of the movie series.
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