Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

First, a bold proclamation: this is the best Harry Potter movie yet.

Finally, Daniel Radcliffe turns in a performance that shows that he’s worthy and has the chops to portray this complex and much beloved character well. I’ve argued that for the last four movies, the amazing ensemble cast that has appeared in the films have carried the cinematic weight and Radcliffe mostly stayed out of the way. I wasn’t convinced that Radcliffe could play Potter. This is the movie and the performance that I’ve been waiting for.

The supporting cast, as usual, is terrific as is Stephanie McMillan’s unbelievable set design (there is nothing cooler than the black tiled underground Ministry of Magic headquarters). My only complaint with the movie was that I felt like it had pacing problems. While the movie, which had a runtime of 2 hours and 18 minutes (normally much too long for my hamster-like attention span), was not in the least a chore to sit through (though it did provide a nice $9 dollar, two-hour nap for my girlfriend), the pacing was off. The second act was much too long and the third act was much too short. At the end of the film, you have the director trying to try storylines together and you kind of feel like the clock runs out. It does not have the ending that Goblet of Fire had. There is nothing climactic about the way this film ends and maybe there isn’t supposed to be.

Though some have said this is the most stagnant of J.K. Rowling’s books, the film does not suffer from that same fate.

The performances from the cast, including (finally) Radcliffe’s, are spot-on and the fight at the end is what the light sabre duel between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobe at the end of Revenge of the Sith should have been and exponentially more visually impressive. For me, this film feels like it could do what Batman Begins did for the Batman franchise.

While I am not an avid reader of the books, as so many are, I have grown to love and care about these characters just the same and this film really left me excited for what comes next. I would have liked to see more done to establish the relationship between Harry and his godfather, Sirius Black (again played brilliantly by Gary Oldman) and more scenes with Harry and Hermione and Ron but overall the film is definitely worth checking out.

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