Harry Potter 5 (movie reviews) *spoilers thru book 5*

[Cadsuane]

I'm excited, though I can't see it right away this weekend. I'm not going to go in with very high hopes, which has worked well for me with past movies. I can enjoy them just as someone else's vision of the world, not as a cinematic masterpiece.

 

 

Rotten Tomatoes has given this a critic's score 77%, fresh:rotten score of 92:27

RT user's score is 88%, 225:28

 

 

The Sunday Mirror

Mark Adams

 

THE VERDICT: This fifth instalment in the Harry Potter series is a deliciously dark affair, brimming with impressively gritty performances but still managing to balance magical wonder with breathless excitement. This time round, Harry (played with muscular zeal by Daniel Radcliffe) is something of a tormented teen, with those adolescent hormones - plus the imminent threat of the dark lord Voldemort - causing him to cuss his pals and shout at teachers.

 

Mind you, on the plus side, he gets to engage in a proper extended festive snog with Cho Chang (Katie Leung) under a magically sprouting sprig of mistletoe.

 

The film is impressively moody, brooding with bad omens, and while heavy on thrills and drama it has left behind childish schoolroom high-jinks and jolly japes, with the core of the story about how Harry and his band of school rebels start to train for the battles ahead.

 

Fun does come, though, in the stout and pink-suited form of new teacher (and Ministry of Magic stooge) Dolores Umbridge who rules the students with a rod of iron. Beautifully played by the terrific Imelda Staunton, she exudes creepy charm and steely determination and is quite happy to torture the kids to get her own way. Delightfully, her pink-painted office has its walls covered with decorative plates, each featuring an animated cat that purrs or hisses as she rebukes the students.

 

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix overflows with devious plots, plans and clever machinations, and is constantly entertaining, wonderfully condensing what was the longest of JK Rowling's books.

 

Some things have had to give - there's no quid-ditch and sadly not enough of some of the wonderful teachers.

 

That said, Alan Rickman delivers a truly wonderful hissing performance as the dark and doleful Snape, and Helena Bonham Carter crops up in the final section as the maniacal villainess Bellatrix Lestrange.

 

The youngsters are all pretty impressive. But Ron (the ever-fine Rupert Grint) is never given enough to do, and while Hermione (Emma Watson) is as earnest as ever, it is Bonnie Wright as Ron's sister Ginny who makes the most subtle and memorable impact... her time is to come.

 

Oddly, the Cho Chang character simply fades away after her lipaction with Harry, but you don't mind too much because the final half-hour is a truly classic piece of action-adventure. The special effects are superb, and this time round we really get some proper wizard duelling, with the wands doubling as deadly weapons and blood spilled as the young heroes slug it out with a grizzled group of baddie magicians.

 

There is even a Star Wars moment as Dumbledore (the Obi-Wan Kenobi in this version) goes wand-to-wand with Voldemort (Darth Vader) as they battle for the life and soul of Harry Potter.

 

This time the magical teens are making the difficult transition to young adults. Love, betrayal, independence and commitment all play their part. The film is a cracking piece of entertainment - it's well over two hours long, but you simply wish it could go on.

 

Wonderfully directed by David Yates, it is an energetic epic that will keep Potter fans more than happy as the countdown for the new - and final - book draws on.

 

 

 

The movie reviewed for those who haven't read the books:

 

Victoria Alexander

FilmsInReview.com

 

Harry, it’s not anger or Voldemort. It’s testosterone.

 

My weekly column, “The Devil’s Hammer,” appears every Monday on www.FromTheBalcony.com. The Devil's Hammer on FTB

 

I’m writing this review for few people on Earth who, like me, have not read any of the Harry Potter books. There must be a few of us left. So, if you have been held at Guantanamo Bay or just woke up from a coma, this is the review for you.

 

I admit that I do not know the intricacies of the Potter mythology or any of the spells. I’m accepting this film on its face.

 

Should you see the movie if you have been following the films, but have not read the books? Yes. All the kiddie stuff has been dispensed with. Harry is now, albeit secret, a student teacher, and he’s an angry young dude - he’s got something better than a tattoo – he has a scar bestowed on him by a name so feared it is not spoken – it’s like the wizard’s tetragrammaton.

 

There is a new director-co-screenwriter, David Yates, and a new co-screenwriter Michael Goldenberg for the fifth in the epic Harry Potter series. J.K. Rowling's story is rather limp but brings us more into Harry’s world at Hogwart School of Witchcraft and Wizardry since this is exactly what we really want. If they could have thrown in a few authentic spells and magical rituals, we would have been quite pleased. I’m sure Rowling has read all those ancient Spell & Ritual books. If not, I have around ten books she could borrow – but she has to promise to return them.

 

All the people you love are back plus some new ones – namely a sadistic, torture-mad instructor Dolores Umbridge (fresh off her job with Saddam Hussein) (Imelda Staunton), a young motherless girl, and a baby giant. Like the middle film of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, this one is necessary for establishing what (I assume) came in Book Six (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) and the final Book Seven (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows). The story is boring with the villain only turning up at the end for a rather weak name-calling, shoving match with Harry.

 

There is a global campaign launched by fans to 'Save Harry.' Ha! So Rowling has created a monster that is refusing to die.

 

Once again, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is still being mistreated by his lonesome relatives. The school term is at hand and when Harry uses a forbidden spell, he is suspended. Now there has to be a trial. Harry, with Hermoine (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint), once again take the magical train to school.

 

Harry was using his magic for good. No one believes him that the dreaded, feared wizard Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) is back, still looking like he has to pass a kidney stone. It is just me, or is pasty-white, no-nose Lord Voldemort rather silly looking? Isn’t there a magic spell to fix his face? Can’t he turn himself into someone either more seductive or more scary?

 

Beloved Headmaster Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) decides to defend Harry and he returns to school. Thus continues Harry’s Dark Night of the Soul. He is tormented by nightmares and squirms in sweaty, shirtless agony. The tween girls should get the not-so-subtle message.

 

Umbridge is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and she wears pink. Apparently, she is treated by the students as if she were a substitute teacher for Home Economics. You’d think the students would have heard about Umbridge and her lofty credentials to teach at Hogwart. Umbridge’s personal style is anti-Minerva (Maggie Smith), who wears a traditional witches’ hat and cloak, or Dumbledore, who accessorizes his ensemble with a rubber band keeping his long beard from flying all over the place.

 

No one wants to believe Harry that Voldemort has returned from the netherworld, so Harry must build an army of his own. Lacking a young Alexander the Great’s joy of battle, Harry takes it upon himself to run his loyal compatriots through their magic wand paces. He’s got the stuff of a good faculty member.

 

We wait for the finale between Harry and Voldemort, as Voldemort uses his magic to infiltrate the young wizard’s mind and memories. Harry’s dark side starts emerging. Isn’t it good to be a little evil?

 

It is Dumbledore who steps in to deal with Voldemort – they have a history together – and the most exciting visual effects are saved for these scenes.

 

Harry has matured, and so has his world. It’s dark, gloomy, and shadowed – just like you would imagine a sorcerer’s world would be. While the story leaves one disappointed, the production is a visual delight more sophisticated and menacing. And thank goodness, the stadium games are so last year.

[Cadsuane]

So, I saw this on Sunday night after the camping trip, and I really enjoyed it. While certainly not the most amazing movie I've seen, it is quite possibly the best HP movie to date. Umbridge was fantastically hateable, and Looney Lovegood was properly spacey while still seeing straight to the heart of the important stuff. I loved all the visual effects and the look of the movie, the dark look really portrayed the dark feeling of the book.

 

Fred and George's fireworks and subsequent dropping out were fun, but lost a little bit of the excitement of that scene in the books. They didn't ever explain what they left to go do, which is just one of the little details that all the movies skip over (I know they have to do it, but I still miss them ^_^). I wish we had seen more of the Order and their efforts, but all in all it was a good show, and I'm certainly going to watch it again when it comes out on dvd.

[Niamh Sedai]

Definately best HP film so far. I would have done a few things differently, but otherwise I was very pleased  :)

[Barmacral]

I actually agree with Cads all around about the movie. I thought how they did it just made the movie flow really well, although they did leave a few open ends that should have been tied up... (what happened with Cho for example... at least a 30 second confrontation later to wrap that up would have been nice)

[Cadsuane]

I agree, Barm. They did let the kids know that she told because of veritaserum(not cause she tattled), but after that we never got to see any resolution or forgiveness, etc. She basically disappeared. I mean, I don't object to her disappearing, because she was an irritating character in the books, but this is one of the things that is difficult to watch in the movie when you know what really happened in the books. I suppose having never read the books, it wouldn't matter, but it feels incomplete when you know there is more to the story.

[chillimous]

I'm in agreement Cadsuane. The film wasn't exactly long, yet they chose to skip so much stuff that could've made the story a bit more continuous. Once you've read the book, and then watch that film it just feels so jumpy. I enjoyed it.. But i was also irritated with it and disappointed. I guess i expected too much, i know they can't include everything.

[Haxorsist]

I didn't really like it all that much. I mean, it was a good effort, but it just felt too rushed for me to really enjoy it. I guess that's bound to happen with a long book like tOotP. I did like the battle scenes, though. They were pretty awesome.

I think I like the 3rd one better, although it's been a while since I've seen it.

[woolhead]

I agree, Barm. They did let the kids know that she told because of veritaserum(not cause she tattled), but after that we never got to see any resolution or forgiveness, etc.

 

*cough*

She isn't even the one who actually told... it was her friend Merietta (or something close to that) who told, and she did so free of will... there were actually no "interogations" of students in the book, just of Harry. So for the movie, they did kinda go a little out there on that one...

 

And also, they should have called the movie "Harry Potter and the Hidden Prophecy" or something along those lines... aside from a brief mention of the Order... they included nothing about them in the film! In the book, it was a very large and ongoing thing... as was Ron and the quidditch... ah well... I found that the climax of the movie was more entertaining than the climax of the book anyway, so that's a good thing!

[Cadsuane]

Three is my favorite book, although I think five is the best book. I think that may be true of the films as well. ^_^

 

I feel like after seeing the first 4 films, there was no way not to expect them to skip things, especially knowing how long and complex the book is. It seems a little unreasonable to me to see 4 films come out with the same problems, and then expect the fifth to somehow not have the same shortcomings.  :)

 

And yes, the battle scenes were good. I liked the white vs. black mist that appeared when the good vs. bad guys apparated and whatnot. The deatheaters looked cooool. And Luscious I MEAN Lucius Malfoy looked as evilly handsome as ever.  8)

[Cadsuane]

*cough*

She isn't even the one who actually told... it was her friend Merietta (or something close to that) who told, and she did so free of will... there were actually no "interogations" of students in the book, just of Harry. So for the movie, they did kinda go a little out there on that one...

Yes, I know it wasn't her who told in the books. And they did briefly show Umbridge calling in students one by one to be interrogated, just not Cho herself.