Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Jul. 9th, 2007 11:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Tonight I was fortunate enough to get a sneak peak at OotP thanks to
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Because OotP is my favorite in the series thus far and I tend to like tiny details, my expectations for the movie was low. Call me silly, but I prepared myself to be disappointed because how can 766 pages possibly be condensed and faithfully represented in a movie? However, one thing that impressed me was how well OotP hung together as a relatively self-contained film. *cheers and dances again* Thankfully, the screenwriter/producers/director recognized that the vast majority of the audience has prior Potter knowledge. Therefore, they dispensed with the whole universe and character set up (this is a kid named Harry who has a scar who's parents died at the hands of a dark wizard blah blah) and just jumped right into the story, making this feel exactly like one book in a continuing series (um ... as it should, because ... well ... it is).
Overall it flowed all right. There were some jumpy cuts in places (one cut involving a thestral chomping down on a hunk of raw meat and Ron eating what I think was a sausage was especially giggle worthy) and they used lots of montages to show the passing of time (suddenly it was Christmas and then it wasn't), but I don't know how else they could've moved the story along at a faster pace to cover the whole plot. Certain subplots were cut, events rearranged, some character motivations weren't elaborated on or explained, and some character roles were combined to streamline the story. Canon maniacs will find this slightly annoying, but again if it was all included the movie would be long, convoluted, and lose it's momentum. However, I thought they could've given more thought to the aftermath of Arthur Weasley's injuries at the DoM -- what they did seemed far too rushed and jerky. Although not as much as an after thought as in GoF, the resolution could've also been given more attention, in particular, the scene in Dumbledore's office. In contrast, a pivotal moment in the Ministry of Magic was drawn out for eons compared to the treatment it received in the book, but I think it was right for dramatic purposes and Harry's journey in the movie. Interestingly enough, the movie ended on a slightly higher, more positive note than the book at least in respect to Harry's state of mind. I can only guess they did this because it leaves the viewer feeling more satisfied that there was a "happy" conclusion because, in the end, this does have to "feel" like a stand-alone movie.
The acting has improved dramatically. Dan Radcliff did a good job portraying simmering anger and frustration. He also seemed to have practiced flailing in his sleep sufficiently. *grins* According to those scenes, it appears that Yates had a fascination with Harry/Dan's sweaty neck (no joke). Dan's acting during climax had me barely breathing and silently cursing the woman next to me who kept nosily sliding her straw in and out of the lid of her drink to feed her infant strawfuls of soda (who gives their baby coke anyway?). However, Imelda Staunton stole the show. She was an absolutely amazing Umbridge: calculating, sickly sweet, and horrible, she was shiver inspiring with her girlish voice and saccharine smile. The entire theater was completely silent during Harry's detention with Umbridge's special quill. A close second was Evanna Lynch who managed to pull off what I thought was a convincingly dreamy Luna down to her homemade radish earrings. Every time Luna was on screen I grinned. Two other performances that I really enjoyed and wished we could've seem more of were Helena Bonham Carter and Emma Thompson -- Bellatrix Lestrange was perfectly insane (watch her eyes) and you really did feel sorry for Trelawney which made you want to slap Umbridge even more. Alan Rickman was amazing as always; his scenes never fail to disappoint. Snape continued his trend of manhandling students from GoF which I personally think canon!Snape would refrain from doing, but I thought his portrayal of Snape after Harry sees his worst memory was the right choice even though it deviated slightly from canon.
One of the great things about this movie that the other movies failed to capitalize on was the use of backflashes. Talk about vaclempt, HOLY CRAP, every time they showed clips from previous films I think I make a funny noise or else clapped obnoxiously. The backflashes really gave the movie a sense of history and reminded viewer that the Potterverse has a depth that no other movie franchise to date can boast about. Juxtaposing the past and the present, showing the parallels between the first OotP and the current one as well as Harry and Voldmort, and giving us clips of Harry's journey thus far officially pushed this movie into the epic category and added tension by showing the viewer just what was at stake (pretty much the whole wizarding world). I applaud David Yates for every single backflash (because wee!Harry is so adorable). *cheers and dances*
Another thing I enjoyed was the attention to detail. The stone walls painted pink in Umbridge's office, her horrific pink plastic bow buttons, the mewing kittens on the plates, the gigantic awesomeness of the Black family tree, the fact Ron and Harry were wearing the same nightshirts they had on in their first scenes in GoF (yes, continuity makes me spaz). Thankfully, the special effects department corrected how firecalls appear; the weird face-in-the-burning-coals thing from GoF has been replaced with canon version of a face in the flames. I also liked how bits and pieces of Ginny characterization were slid in between the lines. If you didn't know the events in HPB, you likely wouldn't notice, but Ginny's sidelong glances at Harry and her general grrness (is that a word?) toward Cho will have H/G shippers smiling and squeeing in anticipation. Also, they showed Ginny and Luna's Patronuses (Patroni?). Does anyone know if JKR has confirmed them previous to the movie? I assume that JKR made sure they were the right animals.
Things to nitpick (in no particular order):
1. That second-year named Nigel is back. Why not use Colin or Dennis Creevy? *phbbtt*
2. Padma and Parvati are both Gryffindors (again). *sighs*
3. During a pivotal scene, Harry's eyes flash green. Uh ... it seems like the producer, director, special effects, and the editors have forgotten that Harry's eyes are supposed to be naturally green. Why didn't they just make Harry's eyes flash red instead? *grumbles*
4. Grimmauld Place isn't portrayed as a stand alone mansion. I see no idea why they did what they did other than that it may have looked cooler. *is baffled*
5. Apparently Dementors can now affect the weather on a large scale. -_-
6. Figgy (to me) didn't seem flightly, batty, loud, or old enough. I was looking forward to her in her curlers batting SOMEONE in the head with her mesh bag of cat food. Two words: Why. Not. *booooo*
7. No screeching portrait of Mrs. Black. *cries*
8. James's hair isn't messy or black. Considering how many teenaged boys who have black messy hair would kill to play that small role, why wasn't this continuity maintained? *growls at casting*
And to end on a positive note:
Things that were horray worthy:
1. Umbridge and her special quill
2. Luna and her shoes
3. Bella and her crazy eyes
4. Ginny subtext
5. Harry's much more flattering hair style
6. Thestrals and the cool way they fly
7. Ron and Hermione and the build up of their sexual tension
8. Ron and his wizard Cliff Notes (good call
kjpzak)
9. The Hall of Prophesies and how/why all the orbs start falling :)
10. The whole Atrium scene
Anyway, I liked the movie. I'm tucking it right behind PoA as my second favorite. However for best climax, it comes in first in my book (terrific special effects and some serious dueling ... the viscous, ropey magic coming out of the wands is back and is a millions times better). Whoot! I can't wait to see it in IMAX 3D! Everyone enjoy. Let the Potter madness begin! *cheers and dances*
Overall it flowed all right. There were some jumpy cuts in places (one cut involving a thestral chomping down on a hunk of raw meat and Ron eating what I think was a sausage was especially giggle worthy) and they used lots of montages to show the passing of time (suddenly it was Christmas and then it wasn't), but I don't know how else they could've moved the story along at a faster pace to cover the whole plot. Certain subplots were cut, events rearranged, some character motivations weren't elaborated on or explained, and some character roles were combined to streamline the story. Canon maniacs will find this slightly annoying, but again if it was all included the movie would be long, convoluted, and lose it's momentum. However, I thought they could've given more thought to the aftermath of Arthur Weasley's injuries at the DoM -- what they did seemed far too rushed and jerky. Although not as much as an after thought as in GoF, the resolution could've also been given more attention, in particular, the scene in Dumbledore's office. In contrast, a pivotal moment in the Ministry of Magic was drawn out for eons compared to the treatment it received in the book, but I think it was right for dramatic purposes and Harry's journey in the movie. Interestingly enough, the movie ended on a slightly higher, more positive note than the book at least in respect to Harry's state of mind. I can only guess they did this because it leaves the viewer feeling more satisfied that there was a "happy" conclusion because, in the end, this does have to "feel" like a stand-alone movie.
The acting has improved dramatically. Dan Radcliff did a good job portraying simmering anger and frustration. He also seemed to have practiced flailing in his sleep sufficiently. *grins* According to those scenes, it appears that Yates had a fascination with Harry/Dan's sweaty neck (no joke). Dan's acting during climax had me barely breathing and silently cursing the woman next to me who kept nosily sliding her straw in and out of the lid of her drink to feed her infant strawfuls of soda (who gives their baby coke anyway?). However, Imelda Staunton stole the show. She was an absolutely amazing Umbridge: calculating, sickly sweet, and horrible, she was shiver inspiring with her girlish voice and saccharine smile. The entire theater was completely silent during Harry's detention with Umbridge's special quill. A close second was Evanna Lynch who managed to pull off what I thought was a convincingly dreamy Luna down to her homemade radish earrings. Every time Luna was on screen I grinned. Two other performances that I really enjoyed and wished we could've seem more of were Helena Bonham Carter and Emma Thompson -- Bellatrix Lestrange was perfectly insane (watch her eyes) and you really did feel sorry for Trelawney which made you want to slap Umbridge even more. Alan Rickman was amazing as always; his scenes never fail to disappoint. Snape continued his trend of manhandling students from GoF which I personally think canon!Snape would refrain from doing, but I thought his portrayal of Snape after Harry sees his worst memory was the right choice even though it deviated slightly from canon.
One of the great things about this movie that the other movies failed to capitalize on was the use of backflashes. Talk about vaclempt, HOLY CRAP, every time they showed clips from previous films I think I make a funny noise or else clapped obnoxiously. The backflashes really gave the movie a sense of history and reminded viewer that the Potterverse has a depth that no other movie franchise to date can boast about. Juxtaposing the past and the present, showing the parallels between the first OotP and the current one as well as Harry and Voldmort, and giving us clips of Harry's journey thus far officially pushed this movie into the epic category and added tension by showing the viewer just what was at stake (pretty much the whole wizarding world). I applaud David Yates for every single backflash (because wee!Harry is so adorable). *cheers and dances*
Another thing I enjoyed was the attention to detail. The stone walls painted pink in Umbridge's office, her horrific pink plastic bow buttons, the mewing kittens on the plates, the gigantic awesomeness of the Black family tree, the fact Ron and Harry were wearing the same nightshirts they had on in their first scenes in GoF (yes, continuity makes me spaz). Thankfully, the special effects department corrected how firecalls appear; the weird face-in-the-burning-coals thing from GoF has been replaced with canon version of a face in the flames. I also liked how bits and pieces of Ginny characterization were slid in between the lines. If you didn't know the events in HPB, you likely wouldn't notice, but Ginny's sidelong glances at Harry and her general grrness (is that a word?) toward Cho will have H/G shippers smiling and squeeing in anticipation. Also, they showed Ginny and Luna's Patronuses (Patroni?). Does anyone know if JKR has confirmed them previous to the movie? I assume that JKR made sure they were the right animals.
Things to nitpick (in no particular order):
1. That second-year named Nigel is back. Why not use Colin or Dennis Creevy? *phbbtt*
2. Padma and Parvati are both Gryffindors (again). *sighs*
3. During a pivotal scene, Harry's eyes flash green. Uh ... it seems like the producer, director, special effects, and the editors have forgotten that Harry's eyes are supposed to be naturally green. Why didn't they just make Harry's eyes flash red instead? *grumbles*
4. Grimmauld Place isn't portrayed as a stand alone mansion. I see no idea why they did what they did other than that it may have looked cooler. *is baffled*
5. Apparently Dementors can now affect the weather on a large scale. -_-
6. Figgy (to me) didn't seem flightly, batty, loud, or old enough. I was looking forward to her in her curlers batting SOMEONE in the head with her mesh bag of cat food. Two words: Why. Not. *booooo*
7. No screeching portrait of Mrs. Black. *cries*
8. James's hair isn't messy or black. Considering how many teenaged boys who have black messy hair would kill to play that small role, why wasn't this continuity maintained? *growls at casting*
And to end on a positive note:
Things that were horray worthy:
1. Umbridge and her special quill
2. Luna and her shoes
3. Bella and her crazy eyes
4. Ginny subtext
5. Harry's much more flattering hair style
6. Thestrals and the cool way they fly
7. Ron and Hermione and the build up of their sexual tension
8. Ron and his wizard Cliff Notes (good call
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9. The Hall of Prophesies and how/why all the orbs start falling :)
10. The whole Atrium scene
Anyway, I liked the movie. I'm tucking it right behind PoA as my second favorite. However for best climax, it comes in first in my book (terrific special effects and some serious dueling ... the viscous, ropey magic coming out of the wands is back and is a millions times better). Whoot! I can't wait to see it in IMAX 3D! Everyone enjoy. Let the Potter madness begin! *cheers and dances*
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