Magic Movie Moments with Harry, Part 5: Order of the Phoenix

This film marks the beginning of the reign of the brilliant David Yates, who went on to direct the four final films in the series, including Friday's much anticipated Deathly Hallows, Part 2.  I really enjoyed Order of the Phoenix, mostly because I went into it acknowledging that adapting an 870 page tome into a 2.5 hour movie is an extremely challenging feat, and so was able to forgive them the minor details that were left out.  Overall, though, the film does a really wonderful job of conveying the ever-present darkness that we get in the novel, and Dan Radcliffe handles Harry's teen angst much better than I'd expected.  Here are some bits that are especially great:

The Worst Teacher You've Ever Had, Times 1,000.
Order of the Phoenix introduces us to Professor Dolores Umbridge, sent by the Ministry of Magic to Hogwarts School to oppress its students.  She is the worst kind of evil right from the start, looking like an innocent grandmother type but quickly revealing that this is not remotely the case.  I particularly enjoy the kind of cheerfully sadistic venom of her first lesson with Harry's class, where she spouts off Ministry bullshit and berates Harry, then punctuates it with an evil little giggle.  Umbridge gets continually worse as the movie goes on, and I have to say, Imelda Staunton is really the perfect choice to portray one of the most hated teachers in Hogwarts' history.

Harry Potter and Sirius Black:  Misunderstood Bros for Life
One thing David Yates was very deliberate about in this film was laying the groundwork for Harry and Sirius' relationship, its importance as well as Harry's increasing dependence on his godfather.  We all knew that Sirius' death was on the horizon, and that knowledge makes it all the more heartbreaking to watch scenes like the one where they study the Black family tapestry and Sirius reassures his godson that he is not, in fact, a bad person.  Knowing that this is the last time they'll see one another before the night of Sirius' murder just tips the sad scale even further.

Harry catches Cho on the rebound, awkward snogging ensues
This romance is just so silly and entertaining to watch, because Harry is so naive about everything when it comes to girls.  He understands nothing of what might be going through Cho's head after her previous boyfriend's death (Hermione kindly explains it to Harry and to us).  The scene where Harry gets his first kiss, though, is just precious and awkward and hilarious, all at the same time.  I love Harry trying not to let his eagerness to mack on Cho come on too strong, and I love that their bodies are like, a full 2 feet apart the entire time they're kissing.  I was a little disappointed by the follow-through with their eventual breakup in the film, but as the lighter subplot they were trying for, I think it still works pretty well.

The Ministry of Magic Kick-Ass-a-Thon
There are so many things to love about this part of the film, the first being that it is incredibly satisfying that they dedicate so much time to it.  From the moment the kids step off the elevator in the Ministry of Magic, you know some major shit is about to go down.  Not only do Harry and co. manage to keep Malfoy and Bellatrix at bay in the Hall of Prophecy (and bonus awesome points to Ginny for literally bringing the house down), but we are then treated first to an Order vs. Death Eaters battle, and then to a Dumbledore vs. Voldemort face-off, also known as the one we'd all been waiting for.  I'm not usually too impressed by the visual effects in films (that or I just don't pay very much attention), but these scenes are just plain cool looking.  It isn't often that these films come very close to replicating the images I have in my head of the stories, but this is one of those rare occasions they did.


The Music
It has to be said, I think this might be one of my favorite scores of all the films.  I like the tracks on Deathly Hallows Part 1 just a little bit more, but this is the film where I think each composition is featured at a perfectly fitting spot in the action, and in this way the music really does help to tell the story.  Nicholas Hooper composed the music for this movie and for Half-Blood Prince, and definitely deserves some major kudos for helping to establish the tone of both films.

This review reminds me forcibly just how close we're getting to the final film!  Excitement and nostalgia are battling inside me with each minute that passes on the way to Friday at 12:01am.

Discussion: Will Deathly Hallows Part 2 Live Up to the Hype?

It has begun.  (Actually, it began a few weeks ago, but it's only now I have time to pause and reflect upon it, take it all in.)  The hype train is in full motion for Deathly Hallows Part 2, and it is shaping up to be quite the campaign.  Yes, the major advertisements and such have been cropping up quietly in various corners of the Internet, but I think this is just because WB has learned that word of mouth is these films' most valuable marketing tool.  The trailer went viral approximately 10 seconds after it made its appearance (I posted it here only to find that all my blogger friends had done the same within the same 10 minutes or so), and the amount of stills and clips and the usual jumble of spoilers has been much more sparse this time around. 

I for one like that the marketing team seems to be going minimalist for this film.  Even the posters that have just been released are understated, just a photograph and the "IT ALL ENDS" caption, which for me is more than sufficiently epic, but when compared to your average movie poster is incredibly scaled down.  This leads me to believe that not only are they relying on us fans to spread the word and generate buzz due to our tragically mingled excitement and sadness about the series' final film, but that the film may just be capable of speaking almost entirely for itself.  I tend to judge films before their release based on the choices made in their marketing (how early, how frequent, etc), and generally the movies that truly blow us all away are the ones that didn't have the loudest, most explosion-y commercials or a million and one scenes leaked on the web.  They're the ones that some sects of the movie-going community started talking about ages before their actual release, and that have the least to prove at the box office.  Because let's face it, even if Deathly Hallows 2 tanks (which it won't, because I'm pretty sure myself and my nerd friends' ticket money could single-handedly keep it afloat), the franchise is already swimming in cash.  Even if this movie is a huge financial disappointment, there is so much emotion behind it for everyone who made it and everyone who'll watch it that it is impossible for it to be a true failure.

My optimism, however, doesn't blind me to some of the nagging questions I have about the final installment.  I am always slightly wary of these films, just because there are so many tiny places where re-writes of the text can make or break my favorite scenes and characters.  What does give me hope is that Deathly Hallows Part 1 was my favorite by far in terms of accuracy and interpretation, so I'm going to venture a guess that it's sister film can't diverge too widely from this achievement.  I am concerned, though, about some of the changes they seem to be making.  The first is something we all got a glimpse of halfway through the trailer, and something which the producers talked about during filming:  Harry and Voldemort are going to have a physical altercation during the final battle, trading blows that do not take place anywhere in JK Rowling's book (and rightfully so-- writing a fist fight is hard enough; writing a fist fight between a 17 year old boy and a 60-something year old man would be doubly strange).  I understand the motivation here-- it is a movie after all, and that kind of drawn-out fight appeals to the thrill seeker in us, and if I'm being honest I think we can (halfheartedly) admit that in Rowling's version, the final actual confrontation (that is, the moment when Voldemort is actually killed) is just a wee bit anti-climactic.  I could write you a thesis on why it's written that way (I have no doubts it was very intentionally done), but that isn't the point.  What I'm concerned about is whether this scene will come off in the film as well as those responsible for the re-write seem to be hoping.  I can make peace with it as long as it's believable, but if it isn't I worry that this critical moment could turn into a near parody of the text it seeks to bring to life.

My other primary concern (and it's kind of miraculous that at this point I've really only got two) is the Snape and Lily relationship and how it will be portrayed/revealed.  The films have already flubbed this once, cutting Lily completely out of the "Snape's Worst Memory" scene in Order of the Phoenix, so it will be that much more difficult for them to make the Snape plot twist both clear and believable without a whole lot of exposition.  As far as movie-watchers know, Snape and Lily might never have even met one another-- this is a problem as by the film's end we have to buy that he was in love with her, and so much so that he was willing to die for her son with the man he loathed.  And don't forget that this all has to be done without turning the film into the Snape Show.

Overall, I'm excited.  Everything looks pretty great so far, and I think there is an inflation factor for many of us that will make the film seem even better than it truly is just because of our emotional investment in it as the end of an era.  If ever there were a time when "graduation goggles" were going to work in someone's favor, it would be now, and I think the marketing gurus at WB are just savvy enough to realize that.