Maturing nicely - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Reviews

I have a tendency to act as a deranged Potterhead at times, but I'll refrain from doing so here. That being said, 'Order of the Phoenix' is my second favorite film in the franchise, the first being 'Prisoner of Azkaban'. The most obvious reason? A driven narrative. 'Phoenix' sticks to one storyline and follows through with it faithfully from the movie's start to finish. Yes, 'Goblet of Fire' has the thrilling action aspect down pat, but it's noticeably lacking a sense of continuity that makes each sequence fall into place like a montage of various chunks of the novel, mashed together into one film at breakneck speed to please fans. 'Order of the Phoenix' doesn't assault you with an onslaught of frenetic storytelling; the pacing is excellent. 'Phoenix' takes it's time to tell the story and, as strange as it may sound, for the first time in the Potter series, I felt like I was watching an actual film and not a commercial-minded demonstration. This can most likely be accredited to the fact that J.K. Rowling's fifth Potter novel is overindulgent, making it, in turn, much easier to trim than any of the others. 'Azkaban' taps into this attribute, yet 'Phoenix' goes all the way with it. Our heroic trio has certainly come a long way as actors. Emma Watson still has a nagging habit of hesitating before delivering lines, but Hermione is more so of an assertive character this time around that Watson's habit isn't distracting. Curiously, there isn't much time devoted to Ron, yet Rupert Grint establishes a greater presence with the time that he's given than he did with more screentime in the previous entries; Ron isn't nearly as passive this time. Imelda Staunton is a more-than-welcome addition as Professor Umbridge. She is deliciously sinister, though I would've liked to have heard more of that infamous cough... And it took three movies for it to happen, but Michael Gambon has finally come to life as Albus Dumbledore. He plays the charismatic headmaster in a manner truer to the original character, not the hot-headed, often insensitive nut he displayed in the last two installments. Every character featured - with the exception of Tonks - doesn't come across as a mere cameo; everyone actually has something to add to the story. And I enjoyed how seamlessly the screenwriters tied side storylines onto the main one through clever, not distracting or alarming, alterations - to name a few, Cho and the veritaserum (abandoning Marietta's character), and Neville discovering the Room of Requirement (abandoning Dobby's character). Nuances such as those helped illustrate the difference between designing a good film and designing a good book adaption. The tightly held-in narrative makes all the difference in the world. Remember, this is a 140 minute movie, not a 800+ page novel; you can't just pick up and dispose of characters the way you can in the book, which is something many picky fans just need to accept. A few of my biggest complaints reared toward the end. Firstly, Sirius's death is handled a bit awkwardly, though Harry's muted grieving is a nice dramatic touch. Secondly, the most emotional powerful scene in the entire novel for me, Harry's confrontation with Dumbledore following the escapade at the Ministry, is severely underfed. Even for someone who's read the book as many times as I have, the explanation to account for the night's events is rather skimpy. It's common knowledge that ever since 'Chamber of Secrets' came out in 2002, the series has been "getting darker". Yes, we get it already, believe me, this isn't news. What 'Phoenix' offers is a fresh sense of maturity. Gone are the silly gags and childish confrontations. The stakes are higher and the threats are beyond the lines of school-friendly, Tri-wizard competition. Harry has now entered the "real world"; we're not playing games anymore. As he himself puts, "You don't know what it's like, knowing that you're a second away from being murdered or watching your friends die." This is a new side of the Potter franchise that I sincerely hope is here to stay.