(To get the full experience of this review, place your 3D goggles on now...thank you!)
Before I get into this review...I'd like to say that this review is tainted through the eyes of someone who enjoys Harry Potter books BUT sat in the front row of the IMAX, ended up with a sore neck and butt, and had to pee like there was an Crucio curse on me. So...without further ado...
When I read Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix a few years ago, I thought that it was tight, well-written, and surprise twists all around (I won't spoil them here if you've never read the book). The movie does justice to the main plot of the book but shies away from all the secondary stories which make the books so much fun (i.e. Harry and friends preparing for their OWLS---magic exams for the uninitiated). But I understand why...if the director had chosen to include all those GREAT little details, the movie would've run 5 hours instead of 2 and a half. We just get the bare bones of the story with none of the personality...which is forgivable! Because what's there is enough.
I love the fact that the actual actors are growing up with this series. Nothing's worse than a major character being played by another actor mid-stride...it's distracting watching the movie. (Unless there's a good reason like when the wonderful Richard Harris's strong but soft spoken Dumbledore was replaced by Michael Gambon's "I'm old but I'll kick your ass" version of the headmaster after Harris passed away...I still like Harris's version better). All the actors have become so familiar with their character's that it's become old hat (or Old Sorting Hat)...and I'm starting to think that...even though they do a great job...they're starting to get complacent with them.
I disagree with a lot of reviewers out there who say that this movie has lost it's magic from the earlier ones...that's not true. If this one was the first of the series to come out, all these reviewers would be raving that this is a great dark movie. Yes, it doesn't have all the whimsy that the earlier movies do...but the movies are growing up with the kids. It's like comparing your Grade 1 experience to Grade 12. Colouring in your colouring book or learning number from flashcards are fun in grade 1 but by grade 12...all these fun things are boring replaced by other things...not less fun...just a different kind of fun. That's what this movie is like.
Special shout out to my friend Matt's friend, Tony Maudsley, as Hagrid's brother, Graup in the movie! You looked like me waking up in the morning...except with less hair. I'm now only two degrees separated from Snape (my favourite character).
Oh yeah, one other thing...don't go into the 3D IMAX experience expecting it to be that way all the way through. The 3D part only happens near the climax (though it was worth the wait)...and they give you the green "wear your glasses here" sign...so you don't have to wonder when to put them on. I found myself slightly disappointed it wasn't all the way through. (So Graup you were still 2D...but 6 stories tall...but still only 2D).
Was it the best of the series? Probably tied with Goblet of Fire. Could it have been better? Yes...but only if you wanted to have the extended 5 hour version. Was I distracted by the 3D thing, my butt pain, and the wish I had a nearby Pensieve to relieve myself into? Yes. With all that in mind I give this movie...
7.5 OWLs out of 10.
(You may now remove your 3D glasses)
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