Entertaining, not entirely fascinating
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Genre: Fantasy
Director: David Yates
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham
Carter and Imelda Staunton
Storyline: Harry returns from vacation to find he’s the subject of ridicule in the wizard world. Bottomline: In keeping with the mood.
The burgeoning sexuality of the young leads is the highlight of the film initially. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) gets kissed, and Hermione’s un-ignorable hotness quotient was cashed in on a film poster showing her with enhanced curves. This of cou
rse was hurriedly removed, after the appropriate noises were made. In actuality, the kiss just happens in the film after a few stolen glances, shy smiles and awkward stalling. But romance is hardly what Harry has in mind in ‘The Order of the Phoenix.’ Director David Yates gives us a leaner Harry with an almost military haircut.
Group of wizards
‘The Order of the Phoenix’ refers to a group of wizards and witches that dedicated itself to fighting Voldermort and his Death Eaters, when he rose to power the first time. In ‘Goblet of Fire,’ the dreaded, dark wizard rises again (in the form of a nose-less, deathly pale Ralph Fiennes), cause for a new Order to form. Harry’s godfather Sirius, who fought with his parents in the first Order, gives his family house to serve as the headquarters.
The mood of the film, based on the book of the same name by J.K.Rowling, is reflected in the colours grey, bleak whites and dark blues. Into these comes a flourish of pink, which turns out to be the most dreaded colour of all. Dolores Umbridge, with her pink suits, civilised cups of tea and mewling kittens is the immediate concern for Harry and his friends. Imelda Staunton plays the interfering Defence-Against-the-Dark Arts teacher. ‘The Order of the Phoenix’ is essentially a political thriller about the struggle for power, with bold footnotes about the united uprising of the downtrodden. It is an intriguing story, if you are familiar with the Potter series and an entertaining 2.15 hours for its often thrilling visual effects. However, as a standalone, it doesn’t match up to its predecessor ‘Goblet of Fire.’
The speciality of ‘The Order of the Phoenix’ lies in the bond between Potter and Sirius (Gary Oldman). This is the same reason that made the ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’ the best book so far, with its foresight about Harry’s relationship with Sirius. The rashness and inferiority complex Sirius has in the book version of ‘Phoenix’ is barely touched upon. The director prefers to concentrate on the solace and sense of family that Harry finds in Sirius, which is truly moving. The excitement of the launch of the final book of the series ‘The Deathly Hallows’ on July 21 overshadows anything the new HP film can generate, but Potter fans won’t be disappointed with ‘The Order of the Phoenix,’ which stays true to the mood of the book.
SUSAN MUTHALALY
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