logline: with their warning about Lord Voldemort's return scoffed at, Harry and Dumbledore are targeted by the Wizard authorities as an authoritarian bureaucrat slowly seizes power at Hogwarts.

Source: IMDb

Out of all the Harry Potter films I’ve seen (yeah, I haven’t seen all of them yet. oops) Order of the Phoenix is one of my favorites! Easy things first - as always, the score and special effects are top-notch. The music was always beautiful, but if you’ve seen the flying scenes in the first movie with their slightly creepy CGI faces you’d see how far in effects the movies have gone. These films never fail to instill a magical feeling, and as I am transported to this wizarding world I am reminded of why I enjoyed the books so much as a kid. The Order of the Phoenix also has impressive performances. Two characters that really stood out were Daniel Radcliff as Harry Potter(obviously) and Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge. As I said before, many people(including both of my sisters) find Harry’s character hard to watch and cringey. Why is he so angry and sad and dramatic, you might ask? Well, assuming you’re following along with the story, in the last installment he saw a friend die in front of him - arguably because of him, faced the return of Voldemort only to receive disbelief from those around him, and is stuck in a living situation that he hates. This Trope Anatomy video defends him in more detail:

but overall Harry’s personality and character are more than justified, and while watching the movie I wasn’t annoyed - instead I felt for him. Umbridge, on the other hand, is such a good character because she’s so horrible. Not horrible in the way Voldemort is but maybe even worse because she is disgustingly polite and haughty and insufferable. You root for her demise, and when it finally comes you are grateful to see her go. Umbridge is one of the only characters that can spark a deep feeling in me while watching the HP movies, and Staunton’s acting is so good that Umbridge’s little “hhmph” is etched into my mind as her quill etched words into Harry’s hand(bad joke sorry). Lastly, the adaptation of book to movie in the Order of the Pheonix is one of my favorites. To be able to take such a massive book and fit it into a two-ish hour film without it feeling empty is a hard thing to do, but the director(David Yates) took on the task wonderfully. Though I’m not the biggest fan of Harry Potter(my sisters are the real HP lovers) I can still appreciate the Order of the Pheonix, and it’s at the top of my list in the franchise…. That I’ve seen. Oops!

My Favorite Character:

Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood - Luna’s character is so interesting to me, and I loved watching her odd quirks and voice become translated in the movie. I wish we got to see more of her in this film, as some of my favorite scenes were of Luna, and her unlikely friendship with Harry was really wholesome and funny. Her wispy vibe was really cool to watch, and she remains one of my favorite characters in the Harry Potter universe.

Fun Fact: The radish earrings worn by Luna Lovegood were made by her actress, Evanna Lynch.

Rated PG-13 for fantasy violence and frightening images.

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