Harry Potter és a Főnix rendje

Potter literary phenomenon has always gone past me (and probably will continue to) and I take their film adaptations as a parade of pretty pictures and good visual effects to see once, digest pleasantly and forget. However, David Yates succeeds where even Cuarón failed: to fully draw me into the plot and awaken my interest in the fate of the characters. Maybe it's also due to the source material, which thickens from episode to episode towards a slightly horror atmosphere, which is only a good thing. And Stephen King is right, Dolores Umbridge, with her sweet yet sinister smile, is indeed one of the nastiest female villains ever to appear in a film (Nurse Ratched from Forman's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest would be jealous) PS: Kids will be probably get bored, there are few cute creatures and vermin, and they won't even get to see the quidditch. :) (2007.07.31)

The best-filmed Harry Potter since Cuarón's The Prisoner of Azkaban. Very few dead spots, the plot is built in such a way that even a complete HP illiterate will soon catch on, the return of Gary Oldman and the ever-improving Radcliffe, who at times shows something akin to charisma. David Yates has a perfect sense of atmosphere and pace of storytelling, and I'm not even sorry that the humor has disappeared. The only bad thing I can say about this series is that each film is essentially about the same thing and the end is nowhere in sight. However, if the magic is given to us with such grace, I have nothing against seeing it three more times. This doesn't change the fact that my nose still slightly wrinkles over the infinite amount of recycled raw materials (of better quality in the original). Potter is good at reading film trends, but doesn't bring anything new. [75%] (2009.07.12)

The Rebellion Begins. Daniel Radcliffe must have matured to the phase of puberty when he is eternally pissed and so he has no trouble of really being Harry this time round. Otherwise it’s hard to imagine that, all of a sudden, he learned to act. David Yates excels primarily in dramatic scenes with a minimum of actors. However, he hasn’t (yet) developed a personal style for action and crowd scenes. But he clearly is enamored with Cuarón’s style and manages to copy it more than just well. And, here and there, he adds ideas of his own. The casting of new characters is done well as usual, but, like the old ones, they get an absolute minimum of room. With the exception of Dolores, where Harry finally meets his match. Plus, Yates managed the almost impossible and manages to change Voldemort from a camp, laughable worm to a character that commands deserved respect. Hats off to the creators that they have broken away from the kids’ movie recipe with special effects meant to entertain the very youngest of kids to a rather more mature version which, despite (or thanks to) not having so many special effects, is all the more effective. Unlike the preceding part which turned into a pastiche of uninspiring illustrations to accompany the book, this time round it proved possible to at least create the illusion that there is a complete story that is headed somewhere. The fifth Harry Potter certainly isn’t flawless. And although at no point is this anywhere near as good as Cuarón’s distinctive adaptation, if you compare it to the rather routine and dull Columbus/Newell-style attempts, this comes out as the winner, hands-down. ♫ OST score: 3/5 (2007.07.23)

The only way is rebellion... And a proper one. David Yates has proven to be a hero, cut from the best representatives of Dumbledore's army, when he managed to create an almost perfect Potter adaptation, despite all the criticism about his TV roots and the television look of the first image and teaser. Just like in the book form, Order of the Phoenix became my favorite on celluloid as well. The new screenwriter, Goldenberg (for whom Phoenix was unfortunately the only Potter experience), tweaked every scene to deviate from the original, yet without disturbing its essence. Furthermore, the Hogwarts atmosphere thickened exactly as I had imagined. Yates multiplies every hint of depression and turns Umbridge from unpleasant to unbearable, and from unbearable to the absolute nemesis of all of Hogwarts. Dumbledore then gains the aura of the most powerful living wizard, and his final duel with Voldemort takes your breath away, just like the surprisingly well-processed mythology surrounding divination, the connection of both magical opposites, and it even includes my favorite book part with Snape's memory. I am looking forward to the Half-Blood Prince even more, as Yates will be able to unleash himself from a more secure position. The fans are eagerly awaiting. (2007.08.15)

People who can reliably distinguish between different directorial styles and the quality of the parts of the Harry Potter saga are a bit of a mystery to me, because Harry Potter is, in my opinion, a typical example of a project that significantly suppresses creative individuality in favor of the desires of the producer and the author of the literary source. All the parts that I have seen so far had a very similar value and only the details were different. My rating ranges somewhere between three and four stars. It is a generously made series with a corresponding budget, special effects, and overall production design, but it never was a film that captured my heart. It's simply a fairytale, behind which stands the worldwide success of the books. However, the fifth part started to tire me and I am leaning towards the opinion of literary critics who accuse Rowling of being pretentious and megalomaniacal. She can, however, console herself that she is still far away from Steel and other book production factories. I would be satisfied with just four parts that would thoroughly describe the story of Harry Potter without any filler or dull moments. Overall impression: 65%. (2010.10.10)

I apologize to David Yates that I doubted him. The introduction with the Dementors sets a psychological and dark tone that he doesn’t give up for the rest of the movie. Radcliffe has grown as an actor and even though he has a dumb hairstyle and round glasses, he has charisma. In fact, all of the main trio have improved and are more natural. Emma Watson is growing into a beauty (an Emma Watson poster appeared in my wardrobe out of nowhere, but don’t think I’m some sort of pervert, my sister stuck in on the door :-) and Rupert Grint has all the snappy lines. What most and pleasantly surprised me was the tightness of the storytelling and the overall fluency of action that was lacking in part four. Lots of things were left out, but hey, it doesn’t matter (well, apart from one of my favorite scenes where the main role was played by revitalized brains and a giggling Ron). The special effects are still at a high level even though in places it’s a little creaky, and the action is excellent. The whole final battle at the Ministry of Magic is breathtaking and I am beginning to hope that Yates will launch himself into number six with the same verve. But let Harry’s hair grow a bit :-). (2007.08.06)

The most mature, darkest, and most dynamic Potter film yet, with a truly mind-bending final scene. The adaptation of the book clearly suits a much darker look than in the earlier installments. If this trend continues, it can only be good. (2011.12.25)

Along with The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Order of the Phoenix is the best Harry Potter film yet. Actually, if I had to compare, I might like it a bit more - unlike The Prisoner of Azkaban, I can't think of a single thing I could fault it for. From the voluminous book it managed to distil the absolute essentials, i.e. the conflict between Harry and the one-headed pink sleigh of Dolores Umbridge, and in addition to introducing great new characters (those who don’t like Luna Lovegood have no heart, but Tonks was also great), of course not forgetting Voldemort's antics and at the end of the book offering first a great magical shootout and after that an absolutely thrilling duel between Dumbledore and Dark Lord. The best scenes this time take place in the corridors and chambers of Hogwarts Castle. Whether it's the "Umbridge brings order" montage (with an excellent scene with Snape and Ron) or "Harry trains Dumbledore's Army" or the rampage of the Weasley twins, it's all got swing and style, shot with ease, is funny and suspenseful at the right moments, and underscored by excellent music. I think the wizarding saga has fallen into good hands with the arrival of David Yates, though I'd hate to jinx it. (2015.09.10)

“How dare you speak his name?! You filthy half-blood!” –– Well, look. Steve Kloves was told to piss off somewhere, and behold, this is my favorite movie of the entire Potter saga, thanks to which I was finally, after all these long years of waiting for the right Potter movie to get me, immersed one hundred percent into J.K. Rowling’s fantasy world, and was able to award it five stars in good conscience. The previously unknown Mr. David Yates has emphasized the dark atmosphere of the movie, which really literally engulfs you. In addition, as soon as the amazing Dolores Umbridge, played by the incredible Imelda Staunton, starts to cast her spells on the screen and is so nice to everyone around her that she makes you want to throw up and laugh out loud at the same time, you will be surely reminded of at least one former teacher in it (well, I recognized several). I still remember sitting in the last row of the movie theater and my friends and I would sit in suspense every time Filch nailed Umbridge’s decrees to the wall, waiting impatiently for Filch’s ladder to finally fall. I thought the cast were the most likable in this installment so far, even more so when their ranks were perfectly complemented by Evanna Lynch (I just love that “completely out of it” look of hers!), my beloved weirdo Helena Bonham-Carter (as always, absolutely superb) and also Mr. Hooper’s great soundtrack, which, especially in the finale, perfectly underscored the whole atmosphere of the movie. It is just a real shame that the next installments are to be written by that dumbass Kloves again. –– Edit:  So after watching all eight installments of this franchise, I dare to say that this one outshines the others by a very wide country mile, and in fact it is the only installment where I felt the same excitement while watching it as I did while reading Rowling’s books. It is just so totally obvious that a different person was hired to write the screenplay for this movie. (2008.06.24)

I never really liked this story, both in book form and in the movie form. For me, it's the weakest piece, even though "The Half-Blood Prince" is quite decent, mainly because the movie finale there was absolutely disappointing. "The Order of the Phoenix" is just a kind of empty space for me, waiting to see how it actually turns out. (2014.12.30)