So
on to the fifth one, and Harry et al are making new friends and
enemies, and trying to convince the Ministry of Magic that Voldemort
is back. I enjoy the return of all the guys from the older
generation, and there are some good new cast additions again (I'm
mostly thinking Loony and that evil witch lady for this instalment,
but good casting choices are a strength for this series in general).
There
was some fantastic acting in this one by Radcliffe, and this film is
a great way for him to show his range (with the whole fighting the
darker elements of himself/Voldemort's influence, and all the
emotional dialogue heavy scenes in this one). I loved his back and
forths with Gary Oldman in particular.
I
remember really enjoying the Dumbledore's Army subplot when reading
the book, and I'm glad that they included it in the film. Honestly
the resistance against Umbridge was more enjoyable than the Voldemort
drams, if not as consequential overall, just because of how fun and
light hearted it was (I mean apart from the whole torture thing,
which I remember being difficult to watch when I first saw it in
theatres). Nevil's character felt a little undercooked though, and it
would have been nice to have found some way to include the scene with
his parents in the mental hospital somehow (because Matthew Lewis
fast becoming a great actor too at this point).
The
atmosphere continues with its mainly dark tones, and I really liked
the sound design and score throughout, culminating in some great
atmosphere building in the final act.
The
battle in the balls room and around the creepy arch was cool, and the death of Sirius was effectively emotional, but
suddenly all the adult witches and wizards are flying around in
clouds of black or white - what's that about? I thought they needed
brooms for that, but I guess now they're the Harry potter equivalent
of black or white cowboy hats. The fight between Dumbledore and
Voldemort at the end was pretty epic, and I loved the creative use of
materials (I was getting a sort of 'Avatar' vibe off of the use of
shards of glass, broken down into sand, rebutted with a burst of
fire, etc.) though the conclusion felt a little limp.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: 50.3