Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

From here on out, I want to start this review by saying that any future Wizarding World themed movies, including this one, were directed by the same man, so they have a more unifying vision, and most of the time, David Yates' style of directing works well, especially in this one. Somehow, this story takes the Harry Potter saga in an even darker direction.

The story opens up with Harry getting expelled from Hogwarts for defending himself and his non-magical cousin from a pair of dementors. Obviously, this doesn't stick, and soon Harry and his friends are back at school for the fifth year, but that initial scare is indicative of the Wizarding government's attitude toward Harry after Voldemort, played by Ralph Fiennes, returns. The minister of magic refuses to believe this is what is happening and so uses his influence on the press to discredit Harry, Dumbledore, and anyone who may believe in him. The worst thing he does, though, is send in a sadistic ministry mole named Dolores Umbridge to "keep an eye on" Hogwarts as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, which prompts Harry to form an underground defense group to combat Umbridge's "safe" and ultimately useless lessons.

This film also has Harry in probably the darkest place in the franchise, as he feels isolated from his peers and even his close friends because of all the hate and pain he has to endure throughout the year. It's one of Daniel Radcliffe's strongest performances yet, especially in the final scenes. The climactic scenes of this film, in my opinion, are some of the best action scenes in the franchise, culminating in a full-on wizard duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort, and it is glorious.

I will admit that this film does move through plot points a bit quickly, but I think that has more to do with the fact that it was adapting the longest book in the series as one film that is just a little over two hours long. Despite that, everything is still entertaining, and unlike the previous film I reviewed, I still care about the characters in this series, and it does leave you wondering where they can possibly go in the final three films.

Overall, I would say that this is one of my personal favorite Potter films in the saga, both for its amazing action and for its more dark and personal conflicts. It's definitely got its fun and whimsical moments, but a lot of this can be hard to watch just because you really feel for Harry. I'd say it's definitely worth it, if you're in the right mood, of course.

Next time, we journey back to that fantasy kingdom without any sort of good identity, but they promise a darker story and Ben Barnes as a lead so maybe that actually means something. Look out for my review on The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

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