The Order Of The Phoenix: A Review

     Along with millions of other fans, I anxiously awaited the release of the fifth movie in the series.  Well, I finally got the chance to go see it this past weekend.  Unfortunately I am having a difficult time finding the words to describe my experience.  The problem is that I think two seperate reviews are neccessary to honestly critique the movie, One from someone who has read the book, and one from someone who hasn't.

     As someone who has read the book (more than once), I was horrified.  The horror did not come from the story line, but the lack of a story line.  Characters were not properly introduced, backstories were omitted, at least half the story was forgotten, events were reordered, and significant (yet unneccessary) character changes were made.

     I do understand that all 870 pages could not be put into the movie.  It would be ridiculous to expect it.  However, this movie was less than two hours long.  Why?  Did they run out of money?  Perhaps they read the Cliff's Notes instead of the actual book by Ms. Rowling.  Honestly, in my opinion, that would be the best explanation for the final product.

     Another problem that I had with this movie was it's "choppy" feel.  It seemed more like a series of short clips instead of a cohesive story.  I never really felt involved in the adventure.  No bonds were formed between the characters and movie viewers as they were in the previous movies (and any good movie for that matter).  Because I had read the book, I was able to fill in many of the balnks.  I wonder, however, if those who didn't read the book fully understood what was happening and how it pertains to the underlying themes in the series.

     Sadly, instead of telling what is a wonderful story, the makers of this movie chose to show off a bunch of high-tech special effects.  I have to admit, they were excellent.  I was impressed by how realistic and wonderful they were.  However, I would have preferred that they put half as much effert into the story line and editing as they did in the effects.  The bottom line is that I found this movie to have NO HEART.  Dumbledore would not approve, nor do I.