physix said:
Alfonso Cauron's PoA was the bomb. Closest thing to a 'film' this series will probably ever get.
I agree.
Order of the Phoenix is mediocre, as this franchise goes. None of these films are meant (I hope) to be anything other than escapist fantasy fare, and as that is succeeds. They are getting thematically darker, so it's not quite the light entertainment it once was, but this is a good thing as the franchise is never stagnant.
The plot is uneven and some crucial parts of the story struck me as nonsensical. Despite all the magical powers and spells at their disposal, no one in the magic world can prove that Harry saw Voldemort in the last film or that he was living in the back of some dude's head prior to that? That's asking for a pretty big willing suspension of disbelief. I haven't read any of these books, which I consider to be ephemeral trash, but I'm assuming the source material is to blame for the plot holes.
The acting fails to impress as well. Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon and Robbie Coltrane are stellar, as usual, but everyone else was flat. If you don't hold child actors to the same standards as their adult counterparts, then the main characters are tolerably well acted. Daniel Radcliffe shines in a few scenes. Helena Bonham Carter gets no screen time and when she is on screen, she just gnashes her teeth like a spittle-dribbling vampire. Gary Oldman doesn't get enough screen time either, and his character seems to have lost some of the untamed fringe appeal it had in previous installments. I'd like to stress how brilliant I think Michael Gambon is as Dumbledore.
I really went to this movie for the special effects, and they are very good (as you would expect with a budget larger than the GDP of Zambia), but nothing really jumped out as being spectacular. The camera is constantly moving and panning on the effect composites so it's hard to get a good look at what would otherwise be extraordinary sequences. This is most noticeable in the climactic battle scene with the Death Eaters; camera movement is so frenetic you can't get a good look at anything. The bread and butter sequences (energy shooting from wands, etc.) are done very well and blend into the movie's reality so you hardly even think of them as effects. The prank the Weasley's stage is visually appealing, but borrows heavily from Fellowship of the Ring (where the same idea is done better).
Ultimately, I was hoping for something more but wasn't disappointed with what I got.
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