6-7, is that the series will not grow darker still. My hope, as we plow onward through "Potters" Nos. And then take a roll call: Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes (in the wings as Voldemort), Michael Gambon, Brendan Gleeson, Richard Griffiths, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, David Thewlis, Emma Thompson, Warwick Davis, Julie Walters and the incomparable Maggie Smith. Helena Bonham Carter looks like the double for all three of Macbeth's witches. Staunton is perfect here as the Teacher From Hell. And the necessary use of CGI here is justifiable, because what does magic create, anyway, other than real-life CGI without the computers?Īs for the cast, the "Potter" series has turned into a work-release program for great British actors mired in respectable roles. There have been lesser James Bond movies, but never a badly made one.
The British have a way of keeping up production values in a series, even when the stories occasionally stumble.
These things said, there is no denying that "Order of the Phoenix" is a well-crafted entry in the "Potter" series. Rowling's series, and then the retail book industry will be back on its own again. That causes me to wonder, what is the practical connection between the world of magic and the world of Muggles? Will Harry, or should Harry, become a world leader? Can wands and spells be of use in today's geopolitical turmoil? Or are Hogwarts grads living in a dimension of their own? All will be told, I guess, in the final book in J.K. For the first time since we saw platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross, the city of London has a major role now, as Harry and sidekicks fly down the Thames and swoop past Big Ben. For Harry, like many another leader before him, it is time to leave the nest and begin to work in the world. Yes, but so many surprises have popped out of the hat that a veteran "Potter" watcher can almost, by a process of elimination, figure out who will surprise us next. But if a kid starts watching "Potter" movies with this film, would he guess they used to be a little more whimsical?īy now, if we know anything at all about the "Potter" series, it's that nothing is as it seems, and the most unlikely characters have occult connections. Yes, I know time passes, and the actors are eight years older than when they started filming. Their plots, alas, seem more serious than the mischief Harry and friends would have thought up in earlier days. Hermione ( Emma Watson) and Ron ( Rupert Grint) join Harry in fomenting resistance to Umbridge (sounds like "umbrage"), and soon they are mapping clandestine schemes to defend Dumbledore. Her enemies include Harry's protector Dumbledore ( Michael Gambon, looking as shabby as a homeless headmaster). The Ministry of Magic, like many a government agency, is hidebound in outdated convictions and considers Harry's warning to be heresy at Hogwarts, a fierce new professor of the dark arts, Dolores Umbridge ( Imelda Staunton), has been installed to whip Harry into line. As a wizard chosen in childhood for his special powers, he has reason to believe Voldemort has returned and will have to be dealt with. Harry ( Daniel Radcliffe) has reason to fear that playtime is long behind. When they eventually arrive at some apocalyptic crossroads, as I fear they will, can the series continue to live in PG-13 land? The archvillain Voldemort is shaping up as the star of nightmares. They weren't trained as magicians for fun. There will come a time, I fear, as we approach the end of the series (one book and two films to go), that Harry and his friends will grow up and smell the coffee. What is it, like a secret Masonic grip? When you're about to get your clock stopped by Dementors and you know the spell, what are you expected to do? Fall over passively and get Demented? But that earns the disapproval of his superiors at Hogwarts, and he is threatened with expulsion, because the spell is not to be used in public around Muggles. Harry and his cousin Dudley are attacked by Dementors, and in desperation he uses a secret spell to defeat them.
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