Review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) by Cameron J — 11 Apr 2014

Well, I've heard of hot, but did anyone place a tall order of phoenix? Man, that was awful, but hey, it's a little better than me discussing what a phoenix might order: some spicy chicken wings. Actually, horribly cheesy jokes aside, that cannibalism reference is kind of hardcore, and, well, kind of fitting, considering the tone of this film. Don't get me wrong, folks, this film isn't too intense, but if you thought that there were dark spots in the previous films, wow, this film is a little more grown-up, and you know what that means, kids: it's a little more dull. Hey, people, "GoldenEye" and "Casino Royale" were a little slow, and yet, on the whole, Martin Campbell was pretty much to the "James Bond" series what David Yates is to this "Harry Potter" series: one of, if not the best thing to happen to the film franchise. Wow, I'm getting kind of carried away with all of these colons for the sake of suspense, when really, I just need to get down to business and assure you of one thing: ... wait for it... that this film is... wait for it... really good. So yeah, I reckon this is a worthy debut for Yates as a "Harry Potter" director, but as much as I've kept y'all in suspense enough already, before the strengths can be discussed, setbacks ought to be assessed.

While plenty of relatively lighthearted elements stand firm, this is an even less fluffy installment in the "Harry Potter" saga that is much more reliant on substance, yet still has cheesy moments, not so much in the near-fluffy filler, but in certain melodramatics, which are written and directed with enough realization to feel genuine, but still carry the occasional sense of heavy-handedness that bloat the narrative's feel a bit, just as certain focal layers bloat the narrative's structure pretty considerably. If the storytelling bloatings are problematic for no other reason, they give the film too much to work with all that coherently, and although focal shifts are well-directed enough to feel adequately organic more often than not, looking at scripting, the film is uneven, particularly in the exploration of should-be more major supporting characters. Of course, it's not like there aren't elements that are too recognizable for their own good through all of the expository shortcomings, because even though there's always to be something kind of refreshing about this series' narrative, as the formula grows less and less fresh, the conventional plotting elements grow harder and harder to ignore, and it doesn't help that beyond the concept, in Steve Kloves' script, the final product almost lazily treads familiar ground that even those who don't observe the consistent aspects of this series' formulas are sure to be too familiar with dialogue, characterization and plotting elements. If this series is growing towards no other direction, it's growing more towards conventions, which ultimately still isn't a big issue, although is difficult to ignore with substance, seeing as how this story is kind of minimalist, with enough depth to grip, but not enough scale to secure firm engagement value that is, of course, not helped by the times in which the film's storytelling style goes too far in its taste in pace. In reflection of this film's particular maturity, new and ultimately definitive director David Yates has a thoughtfulness to steady storytelling that is often just plain meditative, but either way proves to be very effective in crafting a biting drama, yet for only so long, before tense material runs thin, and Yates finds his thoughtfulness slipping as, well, kind of dull, or at least bland enough to ironically distance you from a sense of substance to this drama. Yates' much more subdued and dramatically meditative interpretation of subject matter that was once much more colorful gets much sharper as the remainder of the series progresses, and is certainly effective enough in its form here to make a strong final product, but I don't know if there's either enough consequentiality to justify the overt steadiness, or enough color to comfortably compensate for the melodramatics, unevenness, conventions and dull spells. These missteps, behind a sensitive narrative of only so much scope to depth, threaten to break the streak of strength that this series hit pretty firmly with "The Prisoner of Azkaban", which is narrowly, but nonetheless decidedly secured, for although there are elements which are either lazy-seeming or simply intentionally questionable, the final product engrosses, at least stylistically.

Up until this point, technicality stood with, if not past substance in terms of prominence, and it really is crazy how much more minimalist this particular installment in the "Harry Potter" blockbuster saga is, so the visuals aren't as played upon as they used to be, yet when they are, they're well worth a wait that, to be honest, isn't too long, as there are visual effects here and there through the film that range from neatly subtle to immersively extensive, while keeping consistent in dynamicity and spectacle. The effects certainly come into particularly nifty play when action is incorporated as a height in style, flavored up by the technical proficiency that keeps the film, at the very least, well-polished throughout its course, with art direction and effects being as sharp as usual, and cinematography being as sharp as ever, thanks to rugged tastes in near-noirish bleakness to sparse lighting and grimy coloration that are both handsome and complimentary to the heavier feel for this drama. Whether it be because of the more careful celebration of sheer technical spectacle, or because of the more haunting artistic touches, even the visual style of the film is prominently reflective of this installments' particular edge, giving the visceral plenty of eye candy, and breathing some life into substance that is brought much more to the forefront in this blockbuster, and generally pretty effectively, by worthy storytelling. Later installments really secure this opinion, but with this one film, alone, one can see how David Yates takes his place as this series' best director, because even though his maturity as a storyteller carries with it a dryness that stiffens momentum something fierce, to the point of threatening the final product as short of strong, strength is ultimately pretty firmly secured by Yates' thoughtfulness, which carefully orchestrates the aforementioned visual style and excellent scoring style by Nicholas Hooper in a manner that is both aesthetically haunting and atmospherically realized, if not mighty entertaining, while the many chilled and subdued moments that go backed by genuine material to meditate upon draw tension and resonance in full form, immersing - nay - engrossing and bringing this drama a maturity the likes of which it had barely come close to seeing up to this point. Chris Columbus is certainly a mess of a filmmaker who was lucky to be given material that was too good for him to make an underwhelming final product out of, while Alfonso Cuarón and Mike Newell saw certain dramatic faults, but even in what is arguably his relative weakest directorial performance for this series, Yates totally gets it, and it would be easier to see that if he had meatier material that is still pretty meaty, being too minimalist to have as many layers as the predecessors, even in concept, but still rich with depth that Steve Kloves handles with reasonable inspiration that, despite its formulaic and uneven attributes, boasts wit and color to its lighter elements, and enough well-rounded characterization to reinforce a sense of nuance to this character study. That is where the character portrayals come into the discussion, because about as reflective of the dramatic maturity of this film as anything is the acting, which is both charming and emotive across the board, or at least piercingly convincing, with Imelda Staunton and Ralph Fiennes being particularly chilling in their antagonistic performances, while leading man Daniel Radcliffe, after gradually exposing his potential as a dramatic talent, proves to be near-revelatory, boasting moments of solid dramatic intensity that encompass the anguish, ambition, flaws and passion of a Harry Potter whose independence and morality go challenged, and whose depths as a protagonist had, at least up to this point, never been so rich. The highlights in Radcliffe's performance really are powerful, though it's not like Radcliffe doesn't lead this opus well through and through, as this film, being much more intimate, thrives on Radcliffe's inspired performance just as much as it thrives on Yates' inspired performance, which, for all its faults, leads style and substance far enough to craft a final product which is truly more engrossing than anything.

Bottom line, there is something histrionic, uneven and formulaic about storytelling here that shakes your investment a bit, while questionably slow pacing behind a story which is too light in scale to handle so many dramatic limitations threaten to drive the final product short of a strong point that it ultimately secures through the sharp technicality and action, beautiful visuals, sharp scripting by Steve Kloves, inspired acting, - especially by Daniel Radcliffe - and hauntingly effective direction by David Yates that make "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" a worthy final realization of a classic family saga's turn into dark depths that both entertains adequately and compels thoroughly.

3.25/5 - Strong.