Not a book adaptation - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Reviews

Leaving the theater in the wee hours of the morning I was far from the only person very disappointed in this movie. Several people approached my group, the same bewildered look in their eyes, asking if we too couldn't believe how awful the movie was and listing off all the things that were horribly wrong with it. Keep in mind this is the longest book of the series, so edits had to be made. There was just no way around that, and I think all of the fans knew and accepted this. Coming off Goblet of Fire, I suppose we thought it could still be managed, though. What we didn't expect was how the longest book could possibly be made into the shortest movie. At 138 minutes this movie is 20 minutes shorter than Goblet of Fire and even Sorcerers Stone, and an entire half hour shorter than Chamber of Secrets! The only way to achieve this feat was to butcher the story into a conglomeration of brief cut-scenes that are thrown together out of order and with no background to explain them. We never see St Mungo's, so the very touching scene with Neville and his parents was lost, as was Mrs. Weasley facing her boggart (a scene Julie Walters said years ago she was most looking forward to). It's never explained why the Order chose 12 Grimmauld Place for their Headquarters, and rather than have Dumbledore as their Secret Keeper apparently Moody just has to tap his walking stick a few times and the building appears. Why they chose to change that is beyond me. They also chose not to explain the prophecy at all, so the audience will never understand that it was Professor Trelawny who made it, or that because of it Voldemort actually created his own worst enemy. With the immense talent this movie has, I feel it was completely wasted on this screenplay. Dame Maggie Smith, Julie Walters, and Emma Thompson were, quite frankly, robbed. Each of these amazing actresses had scenes in the book that would have showcased them brilliantly, yet each only has a few lines. Instead, we get to watch Daniel Radcliff's struggle to show an angry teenage boy. I've been increasingly impressed by his acting in these movies, but this time he was completely off. When Harry was supposed to be angry - when he was yelling and fuming in the book - he would simply get moody and sullen. No raging and yelling at his friends for this Harry Potter. Something I might have overlooked, had the story been better, was costuming. With such an opportunity to create a world apart (and yet within) our own, they instead chose to just put most of the characters in everyday clothing that you'd see on the street. In a few cases this was needed for the story, but I see NO need to the students of a wizarding school to be wearing muggle clothes so often. It was, to me, distracting. The special effects and sets were top notch, as always. I could find no fault in them, though the change in the Dementors appearance seemed unnecessary to me. Overall this movie was a huge disappointment. So much was left out that I simply cannot imagine how much they will have to cut from the last two movies, or risk the audience being even more lost in things that are never explained. I feel deeply saddened for the people who will never read the book and will never appreciate the world and depth of story that JK Rowling created. My best suggestion is to go straight from the movie to your local book store, where the real story can be found, and hope that perhaps Warner Brothers will put out an extended edition of this movie some day.